One of the biggest criticisms lobbed towards Neymar Jr. since his record-breaking transfer from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 has been his availability in the UEFA Champions League.
During his first two seasons in the French capital, Neymar suffered season-ending injuries right at the start of the knockout stage of the Champions League and PSG subsequently went out on the Round of 16 to Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively.
This season, Neymar has been able to stay healthy and it was his two goals over two legs that helped propel PSG past Borussia Dortmund to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2016.
Now, it’s no secret that Barcelona would like Neymar to return to the Camp Nou and the narrative has always been that the Brazilian has failed in Paris and he has to play with Lionel Messi to have any chance of redeeming his legacy. The numbers don’t exactly bear that out. Continue reading