Numbers Prove Neymar Better in the Champions League With PSG Than Barcelona

One of the biggest criticisms lobbed towards Neymar Jr. since his record-breaking transfer from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 has been his availability in the UEFA Champions League.

During his first two seasons in the French capital, Neymar suffered season-ending injuries right at the start of the knockout stage of the Champions League and PSG subsequently went out on the Round of 16 to Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively.

This season, Neymar has been able to stay healthy and it was his two goals over two legs that helped propel PSG past Borussia Dortmund to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2016.

Now, it’s no secret that Barcelona would like Neymar to return to the Camp Nou and the narrative has always been that the Brazilian has failed in Paris and he has to play with Lionel Messi to have any chance of redeeming his legacy. The numbers don’t exactly bear that out.

Thanks to @BrasilEdition on Twitter, we have a breakdown of Neymar’s stats with Barcelona and PSG in the Champions League.

Neymar Jr in the Champions League:

57 games
280 take ons completed
204 fouls won
180 chances created
35 goals
22 assists pic.twitter.com/NK8FueZKjW

— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) May 25, 2020

Breakdown of the stats for Neymar Jr:

PSG: 17 games, 14 goals, 7 assists, 4.2 fouls won per game, 4 chances created per game, 6.1 take ons per game.

Barca: 40 games, 21 goals, 15 assists, 3.3 fouls won per game, 2.8 chances created per game, 4.4 take ons per game. pic.twitter.com/m8bxOmMNph

— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) May 25, 2020

Now, Neymar has played 23 more games with Barcelona in the Champions League but given his numbers at PSG already, you would have to imagine that if he were to remain with the club and reach the 40-game plateau, his goals, assists, fouls won per game, chances created, and take-ons would dwarf what he did with Barcelona.

The fact remains that while many in the media would like to call Neymar a failure, he’s in fact become a better player at PSG. The only thing that has held him back is the injuries.

Ed Note: Neymar actually recorded 19 assists with Barcelona in the Champions League, not 15. So, 26 assists total in the Champions League with PSG and Barcelona.

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