King of Europe
Ronaldo reigns as the icon of the champions, but Madrid are ailing and now it’s Neymar’s chance to become the new...
CRISTIANO RONALDO and Neymar shared a birthday last Monday, but while one celebrated his 26th with a swanky blacktie celebration at an exclusive Paris party venue, the other turned 33 quietly at a private gathering at home.
There is a sense that, as they prepare to face each other this week, their celebrations off the pitch reflect form on it — flamboyant exuberance versus somewhat muted relative mediocrity.
Going into this weekend’s fixtures more than 10 players in Spain had scored more goals than Ronaldo in La Liga and although Spanish paper ABC reported a new deal being on the table for him to sign at the end of the season, it will only boost his salary to €30m net (£26.6m).
There will be no extension on the current deal that runs out in 2021 and he will not get the pay-parity he craves with Neymar and Lionel Messi, whose new deal is said to be worth €100m a year including bonuses, with a basic of €45m net.
Ronaldo’s tally of 20 goals overall has him trailing Neymar, who has 27. If this is a slowing down then it was always going to come. He has had 16 seasons at the highest level, Neymar is still only in his fifth.
But there are signs that Neymar is ahead of Ronaldo at the same age. Aged 26, Ronaldo had scored 213 goals in 472 matches. Neymar has already scored 321 in 520.
Contrary to all those stories about an unhappy first few months in Paris, Neymar celebrated his birthday last weekend like a man comfortable in his environment. There was an informal party at home on the Saturday in which he played poker with professional card player Rafael Moraes and there was live music from Brazilian artists Dudu Golzi, Felipe Araujo and Rodriguinho who were flown in specially.
He then enjoyed a second party at the Pavillon Cambon, an exclusive venue where he was joined by girlfriend Bruna Marquezine, his Paris Saint-Germain team-mates, Colombian singer Maluma, who sang him Happy Birthday, and the Brazilian president, Michel Temer.
In the past he’s disappeared to Brazil to party, now Brazil comes to him. It’s not the behaviour of someone who is bored with Paris life.
And as for the much-discussed falling out with his coach, Unai Emery was there too, setting an example by leaving at midnight once Neymar had cut the cake. ‘We have games every three days so it is difficult to find time for this sort of thing,’ said the manager, making excuses for the mid-season bash.
‘Let them eat cake’, was Emery’s attitude and why not? PSG continue to run away with Ligue 1 and Neymar has scored 10 goals since the turn of the year with a goal or an assist every 54 minutes.
For Ronaldo, Neymar’s rise is tough to take because he knows that last year Real Madrid would have been happy to see him move to France, allowing them to get the Brazilian. That plan was undone because PSG president Nasser AlKhelaifi decided that, despite his friendship with Ronaldo, he would pay double the money and get a player seven years younger.
There is still a sense, though, that Neymar will end up in Madrid in a couple of seasons.
‘Neymar is not going to win a Ballon d’Or until he’s at Madrid is he?’ teased a journalist in an interview with club president Florentino Perez last year. ‘Playing for Madrid would make it easier for him to win one. Because this is a club that gives a great player what he needs,’ Perez replied.
The implication is that it’s Madrid that has helped Ronaldo win all that he has. Ronaldo sees it the other way. Madrid’s successes have been because of him. Hence the pushing for a new deal that will take him towards the €45m Messi earns at Barcelona. That is not on the horizon and there is no sign that another club will pay him what he wants or pay a transfer fee. Chelsea would entertain matching his wages of €21m but will only take him on a free and neither Manchester United nor PSG seem interested even in that.
Even in court Ronaldo is on the back foot and Neymar on the attack. The former still has the €14.7m tax avoidance case hanging over him, while Neymar is taking Barcelona to court for around €30m in unpaid bonuses.
Ronaldo has been taken off several times this season although Zinedine Zidane has stood by him whenever criticism has been levelled at him. The Frenchman has stood by all his senior players,
not that it has done him any good.
If they repay his trust and win the Champions League it will have been worth it and his job will be safe. Facing PSG in the last-16 is a high hurdle so early in the race but is the price for finishing second in the group behind Spurs.
It is hard to see Zidane surviving into next season without winning in Europe, having fallen behind in the league and been knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Leganes, a club whose entire budget would barely pay Ronaldo’s salary.
Ronaldo needs a big performance against the young pretender this week to remind people of his worth. Despite the poor league form he is once again the Champions League top scorer with nine goals.
For PSG winning means not just justifying their huge summer spend but also helping to avoid being punished by Uefa’s Club Financial Control Panel. Knocking Madrid out will boast income because of prize money and, the club insist, bonuses from sponsors.
In the hierarchy of clubs, PSG believe they are ready to replace Madrid. And as king of the Champions League, Neymar looks ripe to become the new Ronaldo.
On Wednesday we will find out just how close we are to such seismic shifts in the football landscape.