"Neymar is in a gold prison." The expression has made a fortune because it describes the feeling that someone is where they do not want to be despite having all the luxuries at their fingertips.
The 'copyright' of the phrase belongs, however, to whoever was an agent of another PSG player, Marco Verratti. His name is Donato di Campli and in July 2017 he referred to the absolute impossibility of his representative to change Paris for Barcelona. Di Campli cost the job and Verratti a salary increase in PSG. It was Veronique Rabiot, the mother of another PSG player, who spoke of her son, Adrien, as "a prisoner" before spending more than half of the season in the stands and signing for Juventus once she finished her contract with PSG. Without necessarily being so vitriolic, legends of Brazilian football have already alerted Neymar in the past of the mistake he made when changing Barça for PSG. Now he has noticed.
The first of them was Ronaldinho Gaucho, in August of 2017. For being a player of both clubs he was very careful in the forms, but he understood everything. "I would do what I always did, follow my heart and go where I was sent and be happy. And it is difficult that the heart had not told Neymar that the best place was Barcelona ... ".
Another former Barça Brazilian striker, Romario da Souza, took a few weeks to diagnose the misstep his compatriot had made. "It will be harder for Neymar to be the best player in the world in PSG than in Barcelona. Neymar has already reached a level where he could win the Golden Ball, but after the transfer, I think he will have it more difficult, "Romario said on September 4, 2017. He knew something about it, since he got tired of scoring goals The semi-clandestine for five years in Eindhoven and its only cop-dress season in Barcelona finally reached the media focus that its football deserved.
Even Ronaldo Nazario, the phenomenon that won the Golden Ball in his only season as Barça but then made a career at Real Madrid, had no qualms about warning Neymar that he had made a mistake. "Neymar took a step back going to PSG. Sportingly, his decision is a step back. I played in Barcelona too and I went to Inter, although the Italian championship was much more competitive than the French one, "he recalled in January 2018, four months after the escape.
There was someone who, like Pelé, started giving a vote of confidence to Neymar for his change of scene, thinking that in Barcelona he would always be in the shadow of Leo Messi and without even guessing that in Paris he would be relegated by Kylian Mbappé. In June of 2018 'O Rei' still believed that Neymar hit the nail on the way out of the Camp Nou: "It's good for Neymar to go to PSG because he had always been in the shadow of Messi." However, in a few months his impression changed radically: "But what has happened in the last two years? Neymar began to want to appear differently. Not scoring goals or making beautiful dribbling, no, it began to shine simulating faults, complicating the life of referees ... ".
Tostao, another legend of 'Brazil of the 70', radiographed some weeks ago the erosion of Neymar in the PSG and suggested a return to Barça as salvation. "It looks like a popstar ... And all that has been bad for his career. He is a spectacular, spectacular, spectacular soccer player. I say it three times because it's like that. I hope he comes back to Barcelona. If he returns, he will have the conditions, "he said.
The stream of critics, albeit with affection, reaches other figures. Rivaldo, who was the Golden Ball with Barça, showed his uneasiness. "It is clear that Neymar is not happy in the PSG and that he regrets his decision to leave Barcelona, but things are not so simple. If it was my decision I would not leave Barcelona for PSG. The League is very competitive and allows you to have a magnificent international showcase, but in France you do not have any of that, "he reflected.
Iuliano Belletti, author of the goal that gave the second European Cup to Barça, hinted that Neymar was good to have Messi as an umbrella. "In Paris Neymar is the leader, it cost a lot of money, he has had many injuries and maybe he has not known how to control this," he said.
Another former Barça player with a history in French football, José Edmilson, came to the same conclusion in November 2018, before the problems with Neymar broke out. "He was wrong to leave Barcelona for PSG. If you want to be the 'number one' is much faster to be in the club than in Paris, with all the respect, "he said.
Faced with such a battery of warnings, Neymar's phrase in August 2017 is still more evident when it is presented in Paris. "I've come to make history."