When one factors in the humongous investment that the club owners have plowed into just so that he can strut his stuff on the pitch, it is only understandable that the Qatari bosses have the flamboyant superstar on a microscope all this while. Which also explains why Paris Saint-Germain’s forward Neymar finds it a tad difficult to shake off his critics, especially considering the mountain of expectations from not only the fans, but especially from the folks who put up the dineros to sign and keep him maintained and well-oiled in his Parisian lifestyle (excesses?).
French publication L’Equipe alleges that the PSG’s Qatari owners are not exactly enamored of the Brazilian’s hedonistic lifestyle that have even of late been claimed to encroach onto the pitch, and they are certainly most unimpressed by his performances on it. It was only a few days ago that the Brazilian firebrand notched two goals in PSG’s 5-1 rout over Lorient, and he immediately jumped on this opportunity to retaliate at journalist Daniel Riolo, who claimed that he comes to training looking drunk.
In his tit-for-tat repartee, Neymar posted a video of one of his goals, noting with sharp sarcasm that he was drunk while scoring. For what it’s worth or not, the criticism continues to flow viciously until the present when the massive cost of his record-breaking transfer fee, which had set PSG back by a staggering 222 million euros, has been pointed at as the elephant in the room.
Marca alleges that the transfer fee added on to Neymar’s salary since 2017 has racked up a bill easily exceeding 500 million euros, not including the largesse from a number of sponsorship deals (guaranteed as part of his transfer) throughout the same period the Brazilian also benefited from.
Prior to his ex Barca teammate and best buddy Lionel Messi joining the Parisian capital club, Neymar had all along been expected to be featuring front and dead center when Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup later this year. Unfortunately the reading of the tea leaves didn’t go as planned as his performances on the pitch have been clearly tangential to the expectations of the fans but particularly the club’s shareholders who reportedly feel that he is unable to justify the money that is being doled out on him.
“The French club’s shareholders feel they have been cheated out of their money,” wrote L’Equipe.
Not surprisingly, the fans, especially the ultras, have expressed not only their disappointment but their disgust and contempt for the once hoped for savior via boos and jeers directed at the player after their Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid.
It’s now anybody’s guess how Neymar will respond or react, with the hope being that he will walk the talk from the pitch and not take the divergent path into greater excesses. When push comes to shove, it would certainly be an Everest of a task for the club to offload him even if they wanted to should he rather opt to play Puck, as hardly any other club could afford the financial outlay involved to take him off their hands.