A few weeks ago, when we heard the murmurs of a push from Paris Saint-Germain to bring Neymar at Parc des Princes, we treated it with disdain. But what all of us, and probably Barcelona as well, failed to see was that it wasn’t just about the money. Big players have used interest from other parties and fuelled transfer gossips to get bigger contracts at their clubs in the past. But soon, murmurs turned into whispers, whispers turned into talks and talks turned into a deal.

Not just a deal, but the deal; the football deal of our generation.

Is the money that crazy?

The fact is Neymar leaving Barcelona to join PSG will not only break the world record for football transfer fee, but double it. The fact is he will become the highest paid footballer on the planet, a planet where Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo exist. This seems trivial, even though it is astounding.

If you really think about it, in today’s market where money is no object and Kyle Walker goes for £50 million, €222 million (or £198 million or ₹1680 crore) for Neymar, one of world’s three best attacking footballers (probably the second best), seems almost sane. So, forget the finances for a minute.

The real mind-boggling fact is that Neymar is leaving Barcelona, one of the biggest, most successful football clubs in the world, for PSG. If he were moving to Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich, or Manchester United, it wouldn’t be as shocking. It would be the same if it was a lesser player, or a player in his twilight moving from Barca to PSG.

But this is neither of those two. It is Neymar Jr, not only a football phenomenon since his childhood, not only one of Barcelona’s biggest players and one-third of the greatest attacking trio in the history of club football, but a global brand unto himself, who is moving to PSG, a club still in the making, a project in progress.

Era-defining move

Era-defining transfers in the past took place between two great European clubs. Luis Figo left Barcelona for Real Madrid in 2000, a shock move that broke transfer records and hearts. The record was broken again the next year when Zinedine Zidane joined from Juventus. Luis Ronaldo came in from Inter Milan a year later and the Galacticos were born, changing European football forever.

Madrid shattered records again when Cristiano Ronaldo and then Gareth Bale donned the all-whites. Three European Cups in four years followed. Barca scaled up as well and picked up Neymar and Luis Suarez, ushering in the era of “MSN”. Last year Paul Pogba became the costliest player when he left Juventus for Manchester United.

These tectonic deals involved two European powerhouses, or the players moved to a better (and perhaps bigger) club. So, Neymar’s decision to join a lesser club is puzzling indeed. Gary Lineker, himself a former Barcelona player, tweeted that there’s only one direction to go from Barcelona and that’s backwards.

But at PSG, Neymar has a chance to establish a hegemony, the one thing he could not do at Barcelona as long as Messi is there. At Barcelona, the pecking order begins after Messi. Neymar, no matter how good he is, cannot better Messi in the eyes of Barca and its fans. He would have remained a sidekick at Camp Nou till the day the Argentinean retired. And that day doesn’t seem to be nearing.

At Paris, Neymar will be top dog. He will be the face of the club and PSG will play around him. Neymar wants to be the best in the world. And how can he be the best in the world when he isn’t the best at his club?

The repercussions

It is interesting to see how this transfer will affect the three parties involved; Barcelona, PSG and Neymar. For Barca, it’s a huge loss. Neymar was their prince. To get Neymar from Santos, they hid and misappropriated funds, evaded taxes, incurred a transfer-ban for two seasons and replaced the club president. They paid Neymar Sr millions to get his son’s services and then to retain those services.

Messi and Suarez are both 30 and Neymar is 25. He was supposed the lead the club into its post-Messi era, whenever that would come. In losing Neymar, they have not only lost one of the finest players of the world and a jersey selling machine, but also a big chunk of their identity and future. Sure, they will have money to buy replacements. But then, Neymar – like Messi – is irreplaceable.

Paris, on the other hand, have bought themselves an identity; an elite symbol of progress and prosperity like the Eiffel Tower itself. PSG have been yearning for stature since Qatar Sports Investments took over in 2011. Big players were brought in for big money and Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the club icon.

For Neymar, it is, as Lineker said, a backwards move. True he will be earning much more and he will be the leader at his club. But football is an exhibition sport. Premier League and La Liga are the two most popular leagues in the world because they are the two most watched league in the world. Barcelona is one of the most recognisable names in the world of sport. But where does Ligue 1 and PSG stand in comparison? We must remember: if Neymar made Barcelona better, the vice versa was just as true.

While PSG have won four Ligue 1 titles since the injection of Qatari money, it is safe to say that the PSG project is still to really take off. Winning the Ligue 1 isn’t exactly the same as winning the Premier League. And though, PSG have knocked on the doors of the Champions League and given some memorable performances, they are yet to reach the semi-finals of the competition.With Neymar, they will hope to finally kick in that door and breach the inner sanctum of the European elite.

It remains to be seen if Neymar is enough to achieve that. Bayern, Juventus, Barca, Atletico and Real Madrid, the teams that dine and wine in that sanctum today, besides having great individual talent also have a long established club culture that has guided them through tough times and has kept them at the top. Their identities are even bigger than their stars. For nouveau riche Paris, that is not the case. But with the signing of Neymar, they can expect to lay the foundation of their identity.