Looking back at Neymar Jr.’s 5 best moments with PSG

The Brazilian who joined the club back in 2017 in a historical €222 millions transfer, is now a legend of the club. Even though the end of his spell at the club was sad due to numerous injuries and a failing relationship with the fans. Neymar Jr. will forever be remembered as a key element of PSG's history.

On Neymar Jr.'s 34th birthday, let's take a moment to look back on his five best moments with PSG.

1) A scintillating first six months

It’s hard to pick just one moment from Neymar’s magical first six months at PSG to choose as among his best, so we have cheated a bit and included the entirety of his honeymoon period at the club, from his August debut against Guingamp to his season ending injury in February.

The Brazilian put on a show and perhaps in those six months was the single most dominant Ligue 1 player of all time, amassing an incredible 19 goals and 13 assists in just 20 league games, as well as six goals in seven Champions League starts. The Brazilian’s most dominant performance was perhaps a four goal showing against Dijon, in which the Brazilian truly glided around the Parc des Princes.

And beyond his statistics, Neymar consistently lit up the pitch with fantastic skills in this period, baffling defenders with tricks that had seldom been seen before in the French League, or anywhere. If you have a spare five minutes today, we recommend you check out Neymar’s highlights from that season, as they are truly quite amazing.

2) A dominant display against Liverpool: perhaps his standout match in PSG colours

Neymar had a number of great games in PSG colours, but perhaps, taking the occasion into account, his best was the 2-1 win against future European Champions Liverpool in November 2018. Jurgen Klopp’s reds were among the most feared sides in Europe at the side, had already beaten PSG in the reverse fixture at Anfield, and would go on to win the Champions League that season.

But on that November night, they couldn’t get near Neymar, as the Brazilian orchestrated a brilliant 2-1 victory, scoring the second goal after a devastating counter attack, and proving PSG’s main outlet and threat all night long, capping off his night with an impudent rainbow flick over the head of Xherdan Shaqiri. In what was perhaps Thomas Tuchel’s best match in charge of PSG, Neymar was a key player: also raising questions about how far PSG would have got in that season’s edition of the Champions League had Neymar not been injured and missed the entirety of the knockouts.

3) A key role for Neymar in PSG’s run to the 2020 Champions League final

The following season, in 2019-20, Neymar (having been heavily linked with a move away from the club over the summer of 2019) once again had a great individual season, scoring 19 goals in 27 games in all competitions, as PSG progressed to their first ever Champions League final in the unusual lockdown format. Neymar’s goal vs Dortmund was key in overturning a first-leg defeat, and he also put on a masterful display against Atalanta, as PSG scored two late goals in a surprising turnaround.

His performance in the Atalanta game was so impressive that Neymar was branded the best player in the world by the press the next day, although PSG went on to lose the final against German giants Bayern Munich, with Neymar’s full time tears being perhaps the defining image from the final.

4) Brutal revenge against Bayern

Neymar didn’t have to wait long to get revenge against the German side who had shattered his Champions League dreams: the very next season, PSG and Bayern Munich came face to face yet again, except this time in the quarter final stage of the Champions League.

Neymar this time was unstoppable, assisting two goals in the first-leg away in Germany, and doing everything but score in the second, including striking the ball off the cross with a virtuoso solo effort. PSG qualified, eliminating the European Champions, but were themselves eliminated in the very next round, losing to Manchester City as Neymar’s Champions League frustrations continued.

5) Last hurrah of brilliant form in 2022

Neymar’s last season in Paris, 2022-23, was interrupted by the World Cup, and while the second half of the season post World Cup break was beset by injury woes, his first half of the season was quite brilliant, as the Brazilian looked arguably at his very sharpest in preparation for the World Cup, scoring 18 goals in 29 games across all competitions. The Brazilian’s time in Paris will be remembered for antics, injuries and flashes of brilliance, but those six month in the first half of his final season were about as effective a spell of football as Neymar had at PSG, and should be fondly remembered by PSG fans.