This is what Neymar wanted. This is what he came to Paris for. To star, by himself, in the knockout stages of the Champions League. To be the guy. To be the man most closely associated with a contender for the European crown. To win the Ballon d’Or along the way.
It has taken three seasons at Paris Saint-Germain. Three frustrating years beset by injury and frustration and controversy. Of early eliminations and suspensions for yelling at referees from the sidelines. The collateral damage was the collapse of Barcelona, which declined steadily just as soon as Neymar skipped town in a world-record transfer in the summer of 2017 and left Lionel Messi and his aging lieutenants to their own devices without an alternative to shoulder the load.