Neymar – superstar with a legacy unfulfilled?

BBC Online :
It was a move that sent shockwaves around the world of football.

Six years ago, Brazil legend Neymar left Barcelona to join Paris St-Germain in a record-breaking £200m deal.

And in August, aged 31, the forward moved again, this time leaving European football behind – at least for now – and joining a number of high-profile players in Saudi Arabia.

He was reportedly offered 150m euros (£129m) a year at Al-Hilal – six times the amount he earned at PSG – having signed a two-year contract.

However, just two months in and the forward is facing an extended period on the sidelines after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee while playing for Brazil.

He was taken off on a stretcher in tears during Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat by Uruguay, having landed awkwardly following a challenge in the first half of the 2026 World Cup qualifier in Montevideo.

Neymar had surgery two days later and posted a message on Instagram to his followers. “It’s a very sad time, the worst,” he said.

“I know I’m strong, but this time I’m going to need my family and friends even more.”

During his time in France, Neymar made 173 appearances for PSG, helping them win 13 trophies, including five Ligue 1 titles.

But it was to win Europe’s elite prize – the Champions League – that Neymar was signed for, something he was unable to help the French giants achieve, coming closest when they reached the 2020 final.

“It hasn’t worked out in the eyes of many of his compatriots.

He is abandoning the battlefield by leaving top-class European football,” South American football expert Tim Vickery told the BBC World Service.

“Neymar himself will not see this as anything other than an au revoir – not necessarily to Paris St-Germain, but with a view to coming back to Europe in two years’ time – because at this moment it’s hard to see what other option he had.”

It is the latest chapter in a career of highs and lows.

Here, BBC Sport charts Neymar’s journey from Santos to Saudi Arabia.