Experimenting with a career doesn’t always work out, and in Neymar’s case, the experimentation became one of the top reasons behind his downfall

Be it sports or any other career, leaving one organization for another is always a gamble. No matter how skilled a person is, there is no guarantee of success for every organization they may work for. This reality is no different for Brazil’s Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, one of the finest footballers ever to grace the game, who had an unreal downfall in the history of football.

A prince once touted to be the king, the world of football had expected him to walk on the same course as Lionel Messi. However, the chase for immediate success and a gambling decision changed his career forever.

Today, on his birthday, let us relive Neymar’s glory days at football club Barcelona – the happy days in Spain and a career that should’ve never left Catalonia.

A magical kid in Santos

Football came to Neymar naturally, who started playing the game when he was a toddler, and by the age of 11, he was spotted by Santos and was offered a contract. At Santos, the baller was leaving mates and rivals impressed with his dribbling, technical ability, playmaking, and finishing. In fact, Neymar was so good for his age that he even went to Real Madrid for a tryout, but his father thought Santos was a better place for growth, and therefore, Neymar stayed with the Brazilian club.

By the age of 17 in 2009, he was racking up goals for Santos in the first team and winning State League and Copa do Brasil titles. In 2011, he won the Copa Libertadores title, the FIFA Club World Cup runner-up award, and the Puskás Award, followed by South America's best player for the second consecutive year in 2012. Finally, in 2013, the big call came from Barcelona. Neymar accepted the move without hesitation.

Career at Barcelona

The first half of the 2013 season was a struggling phase for Neymar, but he soon adapted to the ways of Barcelona, scoring his first goals across competitions. In the next season, i.e., 2014/15, Neymar evolved into one of the best attackers in the world, forming a deadly MSN trio that led Barcelona to a treble. His exploits in that season earned him a place alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Ballon d’Or, but he came third.

Regrettably, the situation began to unravel by 2016. On the surface, everything looked normal, but somewhere down the line, Neymar started to feel he could never rise up the ladder until he was around Messi. Racking goals wasn’t a problem for Neymar, but he was on the lookout for a club that would do things around him instead of focusing on another player.

La Remontada became Neymar’s last highlight at Barcelona as he helped the team make an epic comeback over PSG in the Champions League, but Barcelona failed to lift the trophy that season.

The following year, Neymar left for PSG, having scored 105 goals and provided 76 assists in 186 appearances for FC Barcelona across all competitions between 2013 and 2017.

Move to PSG

Unfortunately, this decision became a gamble, as he never managed to lead PSG to the Champions League despite scoring tonnes of goals in other competitions. Not to forget, the joining of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi meant once again, the focus was not completely on Neymar. Injuries got to him time and again, keeping him away from football at regular intervals. In short, the move to PSG did little for Neymar’s career in terms of global success, and his career registered one of the saddest downfalls in football’s history.

On his birthday, we hope the 34-year-old Neymar gets his last shot at the upcoming FIFA World Cup and lights the stage on fire, whether he wins the trophy or not.