5 top stars condemned to deliver this season

#3 Neymar (PSG)

Neymar is well aware of what needs to be done this season

While Neymar didn’t have a bad 2017/2018 season like the other players on this list, there has been a noticeable drop in the performances of the Brazilian superstar ever since his world-record move to PSG and the French Ligue 1.

He had lit up French football with his brilliant dribbling, passing and goal scoring in the first part of the season until he got injured in February which had kept him out for the rest of the season. Without him, PSG strolled to the Ligue 1 title while winning the French League Cup and Coupe de France as well.

It was expected that following the extensive rest and rehabilitation, Neymar would prove to be one of the key players at the World Cup. While his performances were above average, it was overshadowed by his constant diving and theatrics. The avalanche of criticism which followed after Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Belgium and his omission from FIFA’s #TheBest World Footballer of the Year nominees list would have been a wake-up call for him.

With new PSG manager Thomas Tuchel a notorious stickler for rules, Neymar will have to buckle down and deliver that which the club’s fans and owners desire above all: the UEFA Champions League trophy. For a long while, the 26-year-old had been seen as the natural fit to take over from Messi and Ronaldo as the best player in the world, this would be a good season to prove it.