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Just how much money is too much is a question Paris Saint-Germain immuned themselves to when they broke the bank to sign Neymar. A world-record fee of €222 million was splashed to bring one of football's most entertaining and potent forwards to Paris in his prime.
At 25, the Brazilian showcased his abilities in Spain and on Europe's elite platform in the Champions League. There were no two ways about it, Neymar was the X-factor that could herald PSG into a new era where ambition and dreams were not mere words but reality.
Four years have passed since Neymar first wore the PSG jersey and there isn't anything extraordinary that the French giants have won. Their Ligue 1 and domestic supremacy existed long before their star man's arrival and it did afterwards as well.
The club did bask in personal glory when they reached the finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history in 2020. But they stayed fingertips away from the title, losing to Bayern Munich. The Brazilian did his best, registering three goals and four assists in seven appearances during that run.
PSG's dream of conquering Europe: unrealised, their appetite for Champions League silverware: starved. If only money could buy magic, the French club would save a chunk of what they spent on Neymar and resurrect the greatest of footballers in their prime, bringing them into their ranks.
If only. But who would they spend all that money on, surely they had to be the greatest pair of legs who ever kicked a ball, the most gifted brains who played the game.
Here we remember five absolute legends of this lovely game who would have deserved every bit of money spent to buy their talent, even more than Neymar's record:
#5 Zinedine Zidane
The elegance and grace that mesmerizes is heard plenty of, but the elegance and grace that is brutal and threatening, rarely spotted if ever. That was Zinedine Zidane personified in his prime. His presence on the pitch was magnetic. To outrun opponents without an effortful sprint, to outmuscle them with the laziest shrug and drop of shoulder, you knew every dollar you spent was worth it.
A first touch that never failed and looked more beautiful every time it was on display, the crispest pass, dribbling that made defenders look like mannequins. Zidane was a facilitator, not a prolific scorer, a creator beyond any restriction of vision. PSG did not enjoy this unpralleled domination back in 1990s or early 2000s and luring the majestic Frenchman wasn't a cup of their tea.
Today, with the Qatari power that backs them, they would have given all that money and more without a second thought to make sure Zidane wears PSG colors.
Success was the inevitable result of the France international's artistry on the pitch. World Cup, Champions League, Serie A, La Liga, European Championship, Zidane had won everything, including the Ballon d'Or to reflect personal brilliance.
In fact, if PSG were under crisis, Zizou could well come back from retirement and guide them to a final, like he did with France!
#4 Gerd Muller
Gerd Muller was the synonym for goals and goals signified him. If you have to pay someone to score goals for you, then the purest of strikers hailing from Germany was the smartest choice. He wasn't the defender's ugliest nightmare nor was he the fiercest striker in football. And no, he did not disappear into a blur when he ran.
Muller knew one thing: the football was too little compared to the goal it had to be put in and there was plenty of space to put it in. A finisher par excellence, the German striker's reading of the game, his immaculate judgment, phenomenal leap and ability to score when it was most needed saw him nicknamed Der Bomber.
Just as PSG forgot how much money was too much money when they signed Neymar, Muller forgot how many goals would make just too many goals. He was a man of sharp instincts, the best on the pitch and all he did was ensure being at the right place, at the right time, to score goals.
He was no merchant of entertainment like the Brazilian Neymar, in fact he came across as clumsy on occasions, but PSG needed someone who could score big goals, didn't they? In 1970, the German striker won the Golden Boot with 10 goals in just six games. He scored in the semi-finals and finals of the 1972 Euro.
Two years later, Muller netted the winner in the 1974 World Cup. That goal against Holland personifies how sneakily impossible it was to stop his goals. He scored a grand total of 662 first-team goals in official club fixtures. Der Bomber was the first German player to win the Ballon d'Or. Unfortunately, he passed away in August 2021.
#3 Johan Cruyff
When PSG invested in Neymar, they availed the services of a game-changer, a man who could single-handedly turn the tide of a match when things looked gloomy. Johan Cruyff is the name of the crown jewel who could single-handedly make your team bullet proof, an investment for the team, a gift to the other players.
There is no way a stats reading algorithm would do justice to the greatness of Cruyff. After all, there is no computer that measures greatness in the criteria of creativity, vision and genius. His brilliance echoes in modern football and perhaps he could even have been PSG's player-manager if need be.
The best thing about the Dutch legend was that most things he did on the pitch were spontaneous and natural and one could only marvel. Cruyff was the centerpiece of "Total Football" and it was only possible because there was no one else who could play a multipurpose role to perfection like him.
The three-time Ballon d'Or winner was a creator of space and time, unlike anyone else. As a player, he won 20 major honors, including the three consecutive European Cups from 1971 to 1974. The 'Cruyff turn' immortalized the genius of Johan, forever and ever.
#2 Diego Maradona
Adored and hated, worshiped and despised, tremendous and terrible. Diego Maradona's name often sends one on a bittersweet nostalgia where one juggles between the extremeties of various emotions. He did go ethically wrong on a few occasions in his life, but he would always be known as 'the unapologetic don' on the football pitch.
One could sit down and comprehend the moral complications and repurcussions of what Maradona did to the sport that gave him everything. But the most teasing option was just to witness him do things only he did to a football. An attacking midfielder by trait, the Argentine maestro dropped players for dead with the slickest of shimmies and finished his goals with utmost grace.
There was hardly anyone who impacted a certain team in the manner that he did at Napoli. A team that could only think of winning Serie A in the wildest corners of their dreams, won it twice in 1987 and 1990 and won the UEFA Cup in 1989. 'El Diego' was a phenomenon, due to what he did both on and off the pitch. Paris would have suited Maradona, one would think.
He knew that the 'Hand of God' in the 1986 World Cup would not be allowed so he shouted at his teammates, "Come hug me, or the referee isn’t going to allow it." It was shithousery at its best, it was El Diego at its best.
Five minutes later, he scored what's popularly regarded as the goal of the century. We recommend you watch Victor Hugo Morales' commentary of the goal. Thank us, later.
#1 Pele
If your claim to fame is 1281 goals scored in all of your career, including whatever match came your way, you could break any transfer record they ever set. Only one Brazilian could aptly replace the cultural heritage and the vibes of another. So if we are talking of breaking a Brazilian's record, why not choose the greatest Brazilian to play football?
A three-time World Cup winner, Pele was a sensation every time he wore the Brazilian jersey. He represented the Brazilian club Santos, with which he toured the world and later played for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League. He was a fighter from day one, high-spirited, morally upright and eventually detified.
Pele scored 90 hat-tricks across his 18=year career, that's five hat-tricks between every birthday. He was technically gifted, physically intense and mentally resilient. He was the most complete offensive player there was to be. With his sublime feet, he made the ball dance and he struck it at its most venomous when he wished to.
His legend has been etched throughout history and around the world. Pele won 25 honors with Santos and 10 titles with the Brazil national team.
