Neymar Jr. has moved on from PSG but damning details about his tenure in Paris keep on bubbling into the mainstream media. A new startling revelation about the injury record of the Brazilian superstar was recently surfaced in France.
A new shocking report from L’Equipe revealed that Neymar Jr. was already suffering from a stress fracture in his ankle before his world-record transfer to PSG. The concern about the fitness of the winger arose in the medical examination ahead of the move, where doctors allegedly identified a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal.
PSG ignored the concerns about the stress fracture and completed the move for the Brazilian in 2017 for a record fee of $242 million. The negligence bit back to the French club as Neymar was injured due to the exact same fracture in February 2018 and January 2019. He further underwent ankle surgery in March due to an issue during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
🚨 Neymar was already suffering from a stress fracture in his foot BEFORE his world record transfer to PSG! 🤯🇧🇷
The foot that made him suffer for a long time in France.
(Source: @lequipe) pic.twitter.com/e7xlz7ABdS
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) November 22, 2023
The report left the fans of the Brazilian heartbroken, as they felt that their superstar move to PSG was doomed from the start. Comments like “Injuries ruined Neymar,” “Injuries like this don’t go easily, same thing Hazard suffered till he retired,” “Injuries are ruining him too much man, he was supposed to be the next Brazilian king,” and “The prince who never became king,” echoed the disappointment of the fans.
Now in Saudi Arabia, Neymar Jr. is out again with another injury. This time due to a cruciate ligament tear. The Brazilian has been out since the start of October and has played only five games in all competitions for Al-Hilal SFC.
Injury history of Neymar Jr.
A closer look at the injury history of Neymar Jr. clears the picture of how one of the brightest stars in the last decade has been struggling with injuries throughout his career. The Brazilian has been out with 34 different issues since the 2013/14 season.
During his Barcelona tenure, he missed 32 games with nine different issues. He then moved to PSG in 2017 and missed more than 120 games for club and country in six years. There were four major incidents during his stint with the Parisian club, where he missed more than 14 games per injury.
A former doctor of the France National Team: “Neymar has not had a series of muscle problems, so suggesting that these (ankle) injuries are linked to his lifestyle is neither fair nor accurate.” 🇫🇷🇧🇷 @lequipe pic.twitter.com/uPbueqZ3qM
— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) November 22, 2023
The underwhelming European record and injury history were two major factors that Neymar Jr.’s move to PSG is considered a big failure in French sports media and among French fans. During his stint, Neymar played 173 games for PSG in six years, which is less than the number of games he played for FC Barcelona in four years.
Neymar did score 118 goals and provided 77 assists during his time at PSG but didn’t earn the full support of the fans of the French club. The Brazilian career after FC Barcelona will always be a big ‘What if?’ for all the fans and experts. At 31 years old, it is unlikely that Neymar Jr. will make a return to Europe to silence his critics. For many, the career of the winger is slowly fizzling out towards its end.