Neymar had several careers at Paris SG: decisive, fragile, rebellious, sometimes happy, sometimes hated, the Brazilian striker took time to integrate into the capital club, which he left for the Saudi team of Al – Hilal.
– August 14, 2017: Attractive beginnings
PSG presents its new jewel, bought for the record sum of 222 million euros from FC Barcelona on August 14, 2017 in Guingamp. With a goal and an assist, Neymar is already shining. “I feel like home. Not all of my teammates are Brazilians but they all make me feel comfortable, I feel like I’ve been here for a long time already, ”says the new L1 attraction.
– February 25, 2018: From quack to crack
The “penalty gate” which opposes him to Edinson Cavani at the start of the season, to find out which of them was going to take the penalties, resonates like a first hiccup in his Parisian career.
But that’s nothing compared to the “crac” heard on February 25, 2018, during a Coupe de France match against Marseille: “Ney” injured his right foot, crack of the fifth metatarsal. The announcement of a failed season with elimination in the knockout stages of the Champions League against Real Madrid, and the start of a long series of injuries for the Brazilian striker.
– March 6, 2019: “Rebellious teenager”
On January 23, 2019, Neymar replayed the bad film of his injury: a series of shocks with Strasbourg Moataz Zemzemi, in the Coupe de France, awakened his pain in his right foot. Verdict: three months of absence and hell for his team. PSG suffered a new humiliation in the round of 16 of C1, against Manchester United (2-0, 1-3).
Back in Paris, after having been seen at the carnival in Salvador and then in Rio, he attended this elimination in the stands on March 6. He cracks and insults the referees on social networks: “It’s a shame! They put four guys who don’t understand anything about football to review the slow motion (…) Fuck them”.
Back on the pitch at the end of April, he expressed his anger by kicking a spectator who was chastising him after the defeat in the Coupe de France final against Rennes. “It’s not possible to do that”, plague his trainer Thomas Tuchel the day after this gesture of humor. “Coward”, “rebellious teenager”: Neymar is not spared either by the Brazilian press. He will receive three suspension matches each time (in C1, suspension reduced to 2 matches on appeal).
– August 23, 2020: Happiness and sadness
Neymar feels better and better in the capital. His 2019-20 season is his best, despite the premature end of the Championship due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He won the four national trophies with PSG, before the “Final 8” of the Champions League. In Lisbon, rid of his physical worries and with a big smile on his face, he allows the club to reach the first C1 final in its history.
His complicity with Kylian Mbappé is obvious, but neither he nor “Kyky” will score in Portugal. In the final, Bayern made them pay for their lack of realism (1-0), and “Ney” left the lawn on the verge of tears.
– April 13, 2021: Magistral against Munich
He took his revenge against Bayern less than a year later, in the quarter-finals. On the way to Germany, under the snow, he managed two assists (3-2 victory). It was on the return, on April 13 at the Parc, that he would shine the most, despite the defeat (1-0). Faced with Manuel Neuer, he finds three times the amounts, but his influence is enormous.
In the semi-finals against Manchester City, the Brazilian is disappointing. Four days after the return, lost 2-0, he extended his contract until 2025 with PSG.
– March 9, 2022: The debacle against Real
Author of a decisive heel for Mbappé in the first leg against Real Madrid in the round of 16 of the Champions League (1-0 victory for PSG), Neymar did it again in the return match with a caviar for “Kyky”.
Alas: like his team, “Ney” collapsed in the second half, one of his ball losses giving Benzema one of his three goals, for a new fiasco for PSG in C1. The Spanish media even mention a fight between the striker and his goalkeeper Donnarumma, which the Brazilian denies on his social networks.
– May 3, 2023: “Neymar, break up! »
Author of a flamboyant start to the season with PSG, Neymar experienced a new failure with Brazil, eliminated in the quarter of the World Cup-2022. His momentum was halted by yet another ankle injury in March. Forfeited for the rest of the season, he became the target of ultra Parisians, in conflict with management over the future of the club.
“Neymar, break up! sing several dozen supporters dressed in black, gathered in front of the player’s home in Bougival, in the Paris region. Three months later, the Brazilian signs in Saudi Arabia.