An initial transfer fee of £196 million would be hard for any club to turn down, even Barcelona, but Neymar offered another glimpse here of what the Catalan giants will be losing if they allow the Brazil forward to join Paris St-Germain this summer.
Fresh from crushing Juventus with two bewitching goals in New Jersey on Saturday, Neymar ensured Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the US ended in disappointment as he inflicted their first defeat in five matches.
It was a characteristically cool finish from the Brazilian in front of a near capacity crowd of 80,162 at Washington’s FedEx Field and another reminder of his worth at a time when PSG are committed to triggering his €222 million release clause.
Jose Mourinho must yearn for a player for Neymar’s gifts. The United manager admitted this week that he possesses neither the best squad in the world nor the best players as he instead moved to trumpet the spirit and unity in his camp, which, of course, counts for an awful lot.
But sometimes there is simply no substitute for sheer class and Neymar showcased just that on the night.
On the other hand, Mourinho must look at the media storm surrounding Neymar and Barcelona on their tour of the US and be thankful Wayne Rooney’s future was resolved before United left for America.
Rooney’s star and profile may be on the wane whereas Neymar’s is firmly in the ascendency but that does not escape the fact that United would have fielded endless questions about the England striker had Rooney travelled.
All anyone has been interested in asking Barcelona since they landed in America a week ago are questions about Neymar and it is fast becoming a circus.
Last Wednesday, Sergi Roberto and Jasper Cillessen were bombarded, to the point where Roberto had to ask reporters to change the subject. The next day it was Sergio Busquets and coach Ernesto Valverde’s turn to face the inquisition. Valverde had more of the same after Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Juventus.
On Monday morning, Jordi Alba had to steal himself for what was to follow and, on Tuesday, ahead of this game against United, Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano drew the short straw. Pique seemed to sum up the long and short of it. “In Paris, if he doesn’t win the Champions League he won’t get the recognition he will deserve,” the Barcelona defender said. “That’s his only option in Paris, because, with all due respect, it’s an inferior league. He still has doubts, but we’re trying to convince him [to stay].”
Neymar, in truth, appears to be milking the moment. Valverde played Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez for the opening 45 minutes against United before withdrawing all three at half-time. But Neymar did not reappear until 15 minutes into the second half and then delighted in high-fiving all his adoring fans as he walked from the tunnel to the Barcelona bench. He is certainly not hiding from the cameras, put it that way.
While his Barcelona team-mates took the opportunity to take a welcome breather and have a drink after a punishing training session in the Maryland heat on Tuesday, Neymar began entertaining the assembled crowd by taking penalties. And when the rest of Barcelona’s squad disappeared down the tunnel to the dressing room, the Brazilian was seen jumping over the barricades in the stand behind the goal where he had been taking penalties and gave his dad a kiss.
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