The great Neymar debate: Should he stay at Barcelona or join PSG?

Neymar has won everything at club level and is presumably financially secure for life. What do players who have everything want? A legacy. While there have been superlative performances, Neymar can never be the main protagonist during the ‘Messi years’.

His achievements will always come with that caveat. For a player as talented as Neymar it must grate a little to be reduced to the role of supporting act. An outrageously talented supporting act but a supporting act all the same. It says much for their friendship that a subservient professional relationship has not boiled over.

It follows perhaps that Neymar should wait then; create his own dynasty. Yet, that comes with associated risks. It is not inconceivable that Barcelona will falter as Messi’s influence wanes. Their transfer activity has also been ramshackle this last five or so years.

Can Neymar trust a board that has signed players such as Thomas Vermaelen, Andre Gomes, Aleksandr Hleb, Dmytro Chygrynskiy, Alex Song and Aleix Vidal to provide an adequate supporting cast post-Messi? Maybe. But if they don’t and *his* Barcelona are less successful then that undoubtedly tarnishes his standing in the world game.

Paris Saint-Germain offers an opportunity to furnish his reputation further. Were he to win the Champions League at an already upwardly mobile club, his own legend would be secured.

Forget needing his own platform and pursuing a lead role, Neymar currently has the perfect situation at Barcelona where he can shine alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Okay, so Messi may be the star man, but Neymar has every opportunity to usurp the great Argentine over the next few years and lead Barcelona back to European and La Liga glory.

Rather than dominating Ligue 1, Neymar needs to prove that he can excel at a whole new level to inspire Barcelona to further major silverware.

PSG would be an easy move, but he can still prove his greatness in Spain.

Messi and Suarez are both 30 and can’t go on dominating like they are.

At 25, Neymar is the man to lead Barcelona into a new era and he has all the abilities to step out of Messi’s shadow once the great man does start his decline.

How would playing for PSG in Ligue 1 help the Brazilian develop into the best player in world football? It just wouldn’t. The only reason for moving there is money.

If he does leave the Camp Nou, Neymar would be making a huge mistake.

This is all about ego. If the reports are true – that Neymar wants to be regarded as the best player on the planet and cannot do that while in the same team as Messi – he should wind his neck in.

Just because Barcelona didn’t win the Champions League this year, doesn’t mean he should move on in a sulk. Messi and Suarez are five years older and, when they step aside, the Brazilian will have a team built around him.

That’s when he can try and prove he’s the best. Delete relevant clichés where appropriate: the grass is not always greener/patience is a virtue/there’s no ‘I’ in team.

There is the obvious temptation to be feted elsewhere, but by moving to Paris Saint-German with his peak years ahead of him he is destroying the prospect of becoming the natural successor to Lionel Messi.

Who is to say what lies ahead, but Neymar is five years younger than Messi, and has time on his side to become as pivotal for Barca as his fellow South American.

New money never respects the tradition of the sport, and Neymar enjoys a level of adulation worldwide at Barcelona that he would find impossible to replicate elsewhere.

Unless he isn't playing or being forced out by Barca, it is difficult to see a football reason for moving to Ligue 1.

But of course, money may affect his thought process. If he decides to leave Barca, it will be because of the lure of millions of Euros rather than to kiss the PSG badge.

Sure, he’s the odd one out of the ‘MSN’ partnership. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have a special relationship on and off the pitch – you don’t risk crashing a honeymoon unless there’s a sound bond.

But Neymar is still part of the greatest trio in modern football, perhaps the greatest to grace the game.

It’s inevitable that Barcelona will regroup after the woes of last season.

They still provide his best hope of winning trophies. His role in the ridiculous 6-1 win over PSG in the Champions League proved he was cut for the biggest stage – and there is no bigger stage than the Camp Nou.

There are rumours floating about that Neymar wants to be the main man, and there’s no doubting he would be just that at PSG.

However, he needs to remember that Messi is 30. The Brazilian has plenty of time to become Barca’s star player.

Ligue 1 doesn’t command anywhere near the level of respect of La Liga and if Neymar wants to win individual accolades like the Ballon d’Or in future, he needs to stay at a club where he is playing alongside Europe’s elite.

He should stay at Barcelona where he has years of glory ahead of him, and he will 100% be Barcelona’s headline act once Messi retires.

It is a fairly resounding verdict from our team with Marcus the one voice arguing strongly for his right to move on, but what do you think? Do you agree with our thoughts? Should Neymar be moving on at this stage in his career? Let us know what you think about the prospect of Neymar being sold for a world record sum in the comments and vote below...