What Neymar still has to offer in 2022

Neymar’s future at PSG is currently up in the air and while he may no longer be at the peak of his powers, he is still one of the best players in the world.

We’ve taken a look into his stats from the 21/22 season to see what he still has to offer in 2022. 

 

His availability  

Generally speaking, if you get Neymar fit and on the pitch he is bound to conjure up some magic, but the problem PSG have found is consistently keeping him injury free. 

Since making his move to Paris in 2017, Neymar has never started more than 22 Ligue 1 matches and this season was actually the most minutes he has ever played. 

The Brazilian started 22 Ligue 1 matches this season and played a total of 1861 minutes. For context, that’s over 1,100 minutes less than Kylian Mbappé played this season.  

Neymar missed the bulk of games throughout November to February with an ankle injury which has kept him out in the past.  

His consistent injury problems have meant that he has played just 144 matches in all competitions for PSG across the five seasons he has been at the club. 

He still has magic in his boots, but any club purchasing Neymar should be cautious over his injury-hit history. 

 

Goalscoring 

As well as being one of the best playmakers of the modern era, Neymar is also an elite goalscorer. 

In just 22 league matches this season Neymar scored 13 goals and overperformed his xG by 1.7 goals. 

He had a goal per shot ratio of 0.20 which made him the 13th most clinical player in Lugue 1 last season.  

Across his 144 matches for PSG, Neymar has scored 100 goals, scoring an average of 0.69 goals per game.  

The Brazilian finished last season in fine form as it finally felt like the MNM partnership of Leo Messi, Neymar and Mbappe was starting to thrive.  

Neymar scored nine goals in his last nine Ligue 1 matches, including a hattrick against Clermont Foot.  

The 30-year-old averaged 2.5 shots per game, which was actually a decrease from 3.9 shots last season.  

 

Creativity 

Arguably Neymar’s biggest asset is his creativity through his vision and ability to dribble around players. 

Last season in Ligue 1, only Dimitri Payet and Benjamin Bourigeaud averaged more key passes per game than Neymar did. 

The Brazilian averaged 2.8 key passes and finished the season with six assists in Ligue 1. 

The finger was pointed at PSG’s forward line for their collapse in the Champions League, but it is worth remembering that Neymar assisted both of Mbappe’s goals across the two legs against Real Madrid. 

Neymar’s introduction in the second half of the first leg against Real Madrid game them a different dynamic in the final third and he was able to open the game up.  

There’s also no debate over Neymar’s elite dribbling ability. He was the fourth most successful dribbler in Ligue 1 last season with an average of 2.6 successful dribbles each match.  

 

What’s next for Neymar? 

Considering the contract he is currently on at PSG, there’s a high likelihood he ends up staying in Paris, despite their reported desire to move him on. 

If he was to leave then a move to the Premier League could be on the cards with both Manchester United and Chelsea being linked with the 30-year-old winger. 

PSG are unlikely to get anywhere near the €222 million they paid for Neymar back in 2017, but he is still one of the most valuable players in world football.  

Whatever the future may hold for Neymar, there’s sure to be plenty more goals and assists to come.