Neymar's decision to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 was motivated by a desire to establish himself as the best player in the world, but a troubled time in the French capital has left the Brazilian at risk of wasting the best years of his career, reports AFP.
The closure of the transfer window has finally brought to an end the lengthy saga surrounding the future of the world's most expensive player, who will stay at PSG having failed to get the move back to Barcelona he craved.
His former club could not complete a deal to rescue the 27-year-old from his apparent nightmare in Paris, with Neymar so determined to return that sports daily L'Equipe reported he offered to pay 20 million euros ($22 million) from his own pocket towards the fee.
PSG paid 222 million euros ($264 million at the time) for his services, while committing reported wages of 36 million euros a year.
Yet he has not done nearly enough at the Parc des Princes in two seasons marred by injuries and interrupted by off-field distractions.
Since moving to the Parc des Princes, Neymar has appeared in barely half of his club's matches.
When he has played he has frequently been brilliant, scoring 51 goals in 58 games. He has won back-to-back league titles and one Ligue 1 player of the year award.
But the Champions League is what really matters, and when it has really mattered in Europe he has been absent. Foot injuries saw him miss three of the four Champions League knockout matches the club have played since his arrival.
Without him, they lost in the last 16 to Real Madrid in 2018 and then to Manchester United this year.
