‘(Neymar) will bring a very positive energy to this club,’ Paris Saint-Germain chief Nasser al-Khelaifi boasted at the unveiling of his new £198million star back in August.
Five months and several internal clashes later, that prediction appears at best misguided, at worst totally erroneous.
In many ways these are the best of times and the worst of times for PSG. They have morphed into one of Europe’s biggest clubs and boast, in Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, a forward line to make most defences groan.
Neymar scored four as Unai Emery’s side moved 11 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 with victory over Dijon on Wednesday.
For the forward, the four-goal haul means he has now netted 24 times in only 23 appearances since joining from Barcelona for a world-record fee.
For his sterling performance against the mid-table Ligue 1 club, French outlet L’Equipe awarded him with a perfect score of 10 in their player ratings.
The PSG superstar is only the second player to receive the perfect score in a league match by the French outlet.
The other? A relatively little-known player — at least by Neymar’s standards — by the name of Carlos Eduardo.
Another Brazilian, Eduardo was awarded top marks for his part in Nice’s 7-2 win over Guingamp back in 2014.