Players come and go in this time of the year. Alvaro Morata found a new home, most recently, so did Nemanja Matic. But ever since El Clasico last Saturday in Miami, the soccer world can not stop talking about an specific player. Neymar does not stop making headlines all over newspapers and websites. The Brazilian forward looks to an even brighter future moving from Barcelona to Paris-Saint Germain. He was all set for medical tests at Qatar, until his transfer hit a bump down the road. The massive transfer found trouble in the form of the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations.
How it works
Financial Fair Play (FFP) seeks to “Improve the overall financial health of European Club football”. Ever since 2010, the maximum authority in European association football, puts clubs through assessment periods every three years. In plain English, they keep clubs in check by taking a look at their earnings during those years. Teams are allowed to spend up to five million Euros more than what they earned in their last assessment. However, there is a way to play with the rules while bending them a little bit.
Gaming the system
The five million limit can be exceeded if it is covered in its entirety as a Contribution by the team owners, or any other party related to the club. Being owned by Oryx Qatar Sports Investments turns out to be very useful for Les Parisiens. Any of the sheikhs in the Doha based company could, and probably will, pay the amount necessary to bring in Neymar. Given the huge amount of money generated by PSG, plus the help of wealthy businessmen, makes the biggest transfer of the summer possible. A move worthy of 222 million euros.
What about Neymar?
Besides possibly earning more money than any other PSG player and having a look at the Eiffel Tower daily, there is not many more positives to him changing clubs.
A team player
Neymar will be a huge signing, and he will play a big role in a team who lost it all during the 2016-17 season. He will be pushed to a role he simply, is not meant for. The Brazilian striker is unable to play the lead role. He makes a living out of supporting others, Messi and Luis Suarez specifically. He is a mere staff member. A very good one, but staff nonetheless
No more glory
He can very well forget about trophies in France. First of all, Ligue 1 is a “second class” league in Europe. At home, PSG has fallen short to an AS Monaco who finished his quest from Ligue 2 to a top flight championship. Move over to continental matters and it is not very different. The folks over at Paris always fall short against bigger squads, refereeing decisions aside.
The Point of No Return
Most important of all, how will Neymar look in the eyes of the Camp Nou? Regardless of the transfer being completed or not, there is no going back with the Catalan XI. He left to Doha enraged with the board of directives. It is to be expected that if he stays, his minutes will diminish considerably. More importantly, Los Cules are already seeking for Antoine Griezmann as a replacement for the Brazilian star.
There will lie a career
Future is very clear for Neymar and so, it is for his career. He will move onto playing a starring role in a non-starring team. He will join his fellow Brazilian Dani Alves in France. Neymar da Silva Santos, like the rest of his future teammates will enjoy a big salary, perhaps worthy of his talent or maybe not so much, that is for PSG directives to decide. Above all, once his plane touches down in Paris, he will finally pull the trigger on a career that will never be as bright as it once was.