Neymar Move to Barcelona or Real Madrid Would Profoundly Affect Sport's Future

Neymar is football's next big thing. The mohawked Brazilian is still only 20, but he's already drawn comparison to Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.

What Neymar gives away in his slight frame he takes back with feet as nimble as a tap-dancer on Broadway, lightning speed and a level of trickery that has already befuddled many a world-class defender. At his best, he's close to unplayable.

Little wonder the game's preeminent superpowers, Barcelona and Real Madrid, have been monitoring his progress so closely, following his every feint and dribble with Santos and on the international stage with Brazil.

The world's football media have been just as attentive. Such is the ferocious interest in the starlet you can hardly blame them for jumping to conclusions regarding his European transfer at the merest mention of his name.

One report had him signing for Madrid last November, in a deal worth over £50 million. Another had him ready to join Barca two weeks later. Manchester City and Chelsea have also been frequent bedfellows to Neymar in the gossip columns.

“I have been sold like 30 times,” Neymar said last September. "Everyday I’m being sold to a different club. Today I’m saying once and for all that I’m not leaving Santos right now.”

But recent developments appear to suggest Barca have changed his mind. Spanish radio station Cadena Ser this week reported a deal has been in place since last July for Neymar, with the European champions set to pay a fee of around $76 million.

It's claimed a deposit of $19 million has already been banked by Santos, with the only decision to be made whether Neymar joins up with Barca in 2013 or waits until after Brazil hosts the World Cup in 2014.

Goal.com corroborates the story, with their man in Spain claiming Real Madrid president Florentino Perez paid the price for his "arrogant attitude" during a phone conference with Neymar last year—telling him he wouldn't be guaranteed a starting spot and pushing him firmly towards Camp Nou as a result.

Barca president Sandro Rosell was ready to capitalize when he traveled to Brazil at the end of the Copa America last summer and put on a charm offensive. He assured Neymar he would feel "at home" at Barcelona. His seduction was apparently a success.

There are commercial aspects to consider, too. As highlighted by Ben Jacobs in his article posted on Yahoo! Sports, Neymar is already a marketing phenomenon and has a deal with Nike that could be exploited for huge mutual benefit at Barca:

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Nike's contract with Barcelona is set to expire in 2013, and although there is no question of the club looking around for another kit manufacturer, both parties are keen to maximise the potential of an already profitable partnership.

As well as supplying shirts and sportswear, Nike boast contracts with a number of Barcelona players, including Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol and Andres Iniesta. Crucially, however, Lionel Messi left the North American company to sign for Adidas in 2006, while Xavi and David Villa also represent the German mark. Cesc Febregas, meanwhile, recently ditched Nike in order to sign up with Puma.

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It sounds like Barca could use a big name, with a big swoosh on his boots.

On and off the field, Neymar's move to Barcelona—should it come off—could play a huge role in defining the next decade in European football.

For now, Barca remain very much an irresistible force, but Pep Guardiola's world-beating team will not stay together forever. Puyol is 33, Xavi 32 and David Villa 30. Both Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta are in their late 20s.

"Great teams go in cycles and the cycle they are in at the moment is the best in Europe, there's no question of that," said Sir Alex Ferguson after watching Barca comprehensively beat his Manchester United team in the 2011 Champions League Final.

"How long it lasts, whether they can replace that team at another point...they certainly have the philosophy. [But] can you find players like Xavi and Iniesta and Messi all the time? Probably not."

But in Neymar, perhaps they can.

I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of Neymar's precocious talent at Craven Cottage last year, when he lined up alongside Ronaldinho in a Brazil side taking on Ghana.

Aside from his deft touches, slick passing and occasional flashes of magic, what impressed me most was the maturity he displayed and his willingness to dictate the game. Here was a 19-year-old surrounded by seasoned internationals, but Neymar readily assumed the responsibilities of an on-field leader.

He was deployed wide in that game, but it was when he came inside that Neymar provided his biggest threat. And if he were to assume a central role at a club like Barcelona, you'd back him to thrive surrounded by the best passers in the business.

And what of his potential combination with Lionel Messi? It's enough to get even the most cynical of football fans excited. Perhaps the duo could even take Barcelona to a new level in jaw-dropping attacking brilliance.

Moreover, in signing Neymar—the most talked about young footballer on the planet—Barca would make themselves all the more alluring to future transfer conquests trying to decide which side of the Clasico rivalry to land on. The Brazilian could also make the Camp Nou all the more difficult for Guardiola to leave behind.

You could very well call it a statement of intent.

That's not to say Neymar is guaranteed to be a success. As Tim Vickery pointed out on ESPNsoccernet, the European game will require some serious adjustments of the Brazilian—who's used to defenses backing off and free kicks being awarded for even the slightest of infringements.

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Attacking players thrive on confidence—which is far higher if the striker can take on a defender armed with the belief that if he cannot win the duel he is likely to be given a foul. Remove that belief and confidence can crumble—which in part is the story of the problems of Robinho, another Santos prodigy, in adapting to the European game.

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Robinho's is a cautionary tale that has no doubt been relayed to Neymar many times over—that of a fellow fleet-footed Brazilian prodigy who arrived in Spain to great fanfare, but ultimately underwhelmed at Real Madrid.

But Neymar can be better than Robinho. He can be better than Ronaldinho, too. And he knows the fastest way to get to that level is by plying his trade among the best players in the world—in the Champions League.

On the evidence we've seen so far—and if he continues his development—Neymar can can be one of the defining footballers of his generation alongside Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

And if he snubs Ronaldo's Madrid to join Messi at Barcelona as expected, a dynasty could be extended by a decade.