Neymar's arrival was the beginning of Barcelona's downfall

It’s immensely difficult to plan, create and execute the greatest football team of the modern era. It’s even more difficult to destroy that vision in 12 months. But Barcelona have somehow managed it, and the degeneration picked up pace from the moment Neymar swaggered into Catalunya.

The Brazilian is not to blame for this disaster. He made a concerted effort to adapt his game to an entirely new way of playing, and had he not suffered injury problems his narrative in
this debacle may have been altogether more satisfying. But he is the personification of Barcelona in the role of the conformist. Adhering to the conventional, the doctrine by which others abide.

No longer ‘Mes que un club’; now, any old club.

Even before considering what an unequivocal misadventure the specifics of the transfer proved to be, at face value it was an endeavour not to improve the team but appease sponsors and fulfil the egos of certain high-ranking officials. Neymar, through no fault of his own, became a bystander in a narcissistic power play, as everything that Barca stood for, arguably for the first time in a decade, became a secondary consideration to revenue generation.

Money drives everything, of course it does. But Barca do it differently, don’t they? It says so right there in the slogan. Not so, not now.

The first warning sign was the uneasy partnership with Qatar that meant a sponsor on the jersey for the first time. From there the path from righteousness towards self-aggrandising rhetoric moved all too swiftly. A club that dealt with its issues with class and integrity fast descended into a duplicitous organisation.
Neymar’s deal meant no centre-back was brought in - another season where the glaringly obvious weak point of the team was not addressed. Neymar is a marketing superstar first, footballing superstar next, and it was too easy for the club to strengthen brand synergy with Nike rather than bring in a player who does uncivilised things like tackle, header, and block. Things that Carles Puyol used to do rather well.