Neymar is no longer “on top” at Paris Saint-Germain, says his former Santos coach, Muricy Ramalho, with the decision to leave Barcelona for French football considered to have been the wrong one.
The Brazil international forward has suggested that he shares that way of thinking.
He pushed hard for a move away from Parc des Princes over the summer, after two seasons with PSG, and made it clear that his preference was to return to Camp Nou.
A record-breaking transfer in the summer of 2017 had been made with the intention of stepping out of the shadow of Lionel Messi and Co. and becoming a talismanic presence in his own right.
Neymar has starred for the Ligue 1 champions, boasting 55 goals in 63 appearances, but is lacking the top level competition he enjoyed both in his homeland and Catalunya.
Ramalho Tidesports source of the decision to head for Paris: “For me, when Neymar was at Santos he was on top and in Barcelona too.
“Barcelona and Santos were the best for him. PSG, not so much.”
Ramalho, who worked with Neymar at the club that helped to launch his career, is not convinced that a prolific strike rate at PSG adds any weight to the argument that a spell in Ligue 1 has been a success.
He added: “Even scoring goals matters little because the French championship is weak.”
It could be that Neymar gets his wish and a retracing of his steps to Barcelona is made at some stage.
There are, however, several obstacles to overcome before a deal can be done, with Messi recently revealing that that there are still some at Camp Nou that do not want a fellow South American back.
He said: “It is difficult to bring him back.
“Firstly, because it was difficult to see him leave, secondly because of how he left.
“There are people from the club and the members who do not want him to return.
“If it is for sports, Ney is one of the best in the world, but I understand all the other factors.”