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It all started when Barcelona officially confirmed the sale of Neymar to PSG for a fee reportedly worth €222million. The football world was shocked as the Parisians paid the humongous release clause in Neymar's contract.
The news went viral and it became a trend on social media for several weeks. No one believed it would happen, but now it is a reality, Neymar is gone and Barcelona will miss him.
It was widely speculated that Neymar left Barca because he was tired of playing under the shadow of Lionel Messi, and wanted to dominate world football and win the Ballon d'Or.
This ambitious move was criticised by some while others justified it. But is the move really going to help Neymar win the award?
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The definite answer to the question is 'no'. Neymar's move to PSG will not increase his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or because of the following reasons.
#5 The Messi-Ronaldo reign isn't over yet
With a concise and sincere view, the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly will end, but not just yet. It is true that they will soon start to decline as a result of aging but the fact is that they still have 2-4 years left at the top.
This will not be affected by Neymar's move to PSG because as long as Messi and Ronaldo are still at their peaks, Neymar cannot match them. We have seen in recent years that Neymar is a fantastic player, but he just does not belong at the same level as the Barcelona and Real Madrid icons. Well, not yet at least.
The duo have proved to be un-matchable, dominating the football world for the past 10 years. No one has reached their level. Their statistics have been quite daunting. They have turned football glory into a two-horse race.
Their goals, records, trophies, and achievements every season is not something that anyone can challenge. They have both scored over 500 goals each in their respective careers.
Therefore, Neymar must wait for his time and improve his game.
#4 Goal scoring consistency
If you observe the past 10 years, you will discover that the winners of the Ballon d'Or racked up lots of goals. For example, Messi and Ronaldo have consistently maintained large goal ratios each season.
Scoring 40, 50 and 60+ goals every season will be a great challenge for Neymar, given that he is more of a creator than a scorer. Considering this season, Neymar has scored 23 goals in 28 matches with a goal ratio of 0.82 goal(s) per match. Meanwhile, Messi has scored 35 goals in 38 matches with a goal ratio of 0.92 per match while Ronaldo has scored 36 goals in 32 matches with a goal ratio of 1.1 per match.
This will be a great challenge for not just Neymar, but anyone who dares to challenge the two kings.
#3 The Champions League factor
The UEFA Champions League has become a very important trophy to teams and players in Europe. For any player to win the Ballon d'Or, he needs to perform really well in the Champions League or even win it.
Neymar's move to PSG is a big gamble in his career. Leaving a team like Barcelona for PSG who have never won the Champions League could be a big mistake. In Barcelona, there are many players who have won the Champions League in their careers.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano and so on have lifted the trophy.
Some have lifted one, some have lifted two, some three, and thereby possess the needed experience for the tournament. Besides, Barca is a proven team in Europe and is far above PSG.
It will take something special for Neymar to guide the Parisians to European victory, without which, he just might not be able to win the Ballon d'Or. And if you consider PSG's latest setback, it doesn't look like they will be winning it anytime soon.
#2 Lack of discipline
While Neymar is a fine player and destined to win the Ballon d'Or at some point in his career, his lack of discipline might halt his chances of winning football's most coveted award.
Ever since he joined PSG, he has shown his lack of discipline several times; first against Celtic players in a Champions League match and then in a controversy with Edinson Cavani over penalty kick issues.
We should not forget that Neymar is usually involved in conflicts with referees, unnecessary red cards, and match bans. Even for Brazil, the attacker has shown his other side a couple of times.
All these derail reputation and if he continues this way, they might come back to haunt his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or.
#1 Competition from fierce rivals
While everyone is tipping Neymar for the Ballon d'Or, we should remember that apart from Messi and Ronaldo, he still has many fierce rivals to beat.
The likes of Paulo Dybala, Antoine Griezman, Luis Suarez, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho, Edinson Cavani, Manuel Neuer, Mohammed Salah, Robert Lewandowski and many more are all playing at an incredible level, and therefore pose great threat to Neymar's Ballon d'Or ambitions.
This makes the task even more difficult to achieve. Therefore Neymar should just relax, improve his game and wait for his time.
