Brazilian and PSG playmaker Neymar has been in the news for weeks for on and off the pitch issues. Neymar has been accused by a Brazilian model of raping her in a Paris hotel in May this year, has had arguments with teammates, continuous fitness problems.
His latest injury has ruled him out for this summer’s Copa America and some of his sponsors are considering their position. Mastercard have already dropped Neymar from their advertising campaign while the likes of Nike and Red Bull are also expected to make statements.
In a footballing sense, Paris Saint-Germain are worried that the value of Neymar as a player is falling from the €222 million they paid Barcelona for him in 2017. According to L’Equipe, Neymar has played just 51.8 percent of matches since joining PSG, which is extremely low when you compare it to the involvement of Lionel Messi (87 percent) and Cristiano Ronaldo (77 percent) in that time.
According to the CIES Football Observatory, the Brazilian player’s value has collapsed from €222 million at the start of the 2019 to €120 million.
The CIES Football Observatory at the University of Neuchatel has published a new report into the value of the most highly-rated current footballers. The study reveals that Neymar’s market value has fallen significantly since being top of the list back in January 2018. His value is now around the same level as players like Firmino, Sané or Coutinho, at just €120-€150 million.
Neymar’s ongoing injuries and off the field problems have knocked a significant chunk of value off the Brazilian star for who Paris Saint Germain paid Barcelona €222M, making him the most expensive signing in the history of football. Since then, doubts over the Brazilian footballer have only grown, as reflected by CIES in their reports.
In 2018, Neymar was worth €213 million, ranked ahead of Messi, Kane or Mbappé. However, six months later, the PSG star’s worth fell to €195.7 million, surpassed by Harry Kane. In January 2019, the Football Observatory confirmed that Mbappé had now overtaken his teammate at PSG, with the young French star now in first position on the list, valued at €218 million.
Neymar is also currently injured, having torn his ankle ligaments in Brazil’s friendly against Qatar ahead of the Copa Ámerica, meaning he will miss the high-profile tournament. All this has led to Neymar’s value slumping to between 120 and 150 million euros, alongside supposedly lower-level players such as Rashford, Alexander Arnold, Dybala and Gabriel Jesus.
Since leaving Barcelona for PSG, Neymar’s injuries have seen him miss the biggest moments of each season at his club. He wasn’t there for the defeat to Real Madrid, nor the elimination at the hands of Manchester United. In total the Brazilian striker has only played 78 games across the two seasons. That’s 12 less than Real Madrid’s supposedly always-injured Gareth Bale.
Anthony Nlebem
