Neymar: The Perfect Chaos review: Superficial and pretentious

2.5/5

Story:
The documentary chronicles Neymar’s rise from the streets of Sao Paulo to the Camp Nou in Barcelona and Parc des Princes in Paris. There is also considerable focus on his father, Neymar Sr and his sports management company.

Review:
Neymar is arguably one of the most recognisable names in global sports. He was once tipped to become Brazil's next great import to Europe, following the footsteps of Rivaldo, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho. He ticked all the right boxes that defined a Brazilian no.10 with a penchant for flair, ingenuity, and a bit of samba magic that set him apart from his peers - a trait found in the aforementioned Brazilian legends as well as other legends such as Pelé, Romario, and Garrincha. So it would be an understatement to say that Neymar had or has big boots to fill. The documentary details how his rise to prominence is almost identical to Pelé, but unlike the multiple World Cup-winning star, Neymar has not fully lived up to his potential.

To the documentary’s credit, they have not shied away from discussing the highs as well as the lows in Neymar’s career. However, there appears to be a bit of revisionism about some of the controversies in his career and his importance to his current club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). In fact, the entire series is guilty of being self-serving and is on the edge of being an elaborate PR stunt to bolster his image and brand. Ultimately, unlike his predecessors, he has become more of a brand off the field rather than a maverick on it. He embodies the modern social media generation of footballers - the antithesis of what someone like Roy Keane would consider as ‘the real men of football’.

The second episode focuses primarily on his time at FC Barcelona, wearing the Blaugrana of the Catalonian giants. This was a period that could easily be described as Neymar’s best as a footballer. He was part of the lethal front three that consisted of Lionel Messi, Luiz Suarez, and himself that helped Barcelona win every trophy available. But he was always in the shadow of the diminutive Argentinian genius Lionel Messi, who cast a very large shadow on Neymar’s hopes of becoming the best in the world. But being second or third best to possibly the greatest player the world has ever seen is nothing to be ashamed of, but Neymar’s controversial transfer to PSG for a record-breaking sum of a whopping £200 million seems to suggest that he wanted to be his own man in a team built around him.

There are a few things that the docu-series has attempted to rewrite regarding Neymar’s time at PSG. For instance, even though he was brought on to be the main man for the team, a certain young Frenchman named Kylian Mbappe has outperformed the Brazilian every season and even won the World Cup with France in 2018. It is almost ironic that Mbappe has emulated Pelé better than Neymar, despite the latter being the one who was tipped to be the next Pelé from a young age. Even though Neymar has won the Olympic Gold with Brazil, his international accomplishments pale in comparison to other greats of Brazilian football. The docu-series has painted a picture that the Olympic Gold is as important as the World Cup. While for most sports an Olympic Gold is the pinnacle, for football it is not. National teams often field the reserves or the under-23s for the Olympics, which means that the German team that lost to Brazil at the 2016 Rio Olympics did not feature any of the senior players in its starting XI that demolished Brazil 7-1 at the World Cup in 2014.

Legendary footballers, past and present, feature in the documentary, including Messi and even David Beckham. Despite the incredible lineup of footballers who appear for interviews, the documentary is bland and lacks substance. Even though Neymar’s mistakes are highlighted, it is followed by those around him defending his actions. His relationship with the PSG ultras (the hardcore section of the fans) has been patchy at best, and they wouldn’t be too pleased to find out that docu-series’ insinuation that Neymar put PSG on the proverbial map. While Neymar did bring his fair share of media attention to PSG, the club has always been well-known even before the Qatari ownership brought in billions in terms of revenue. While it may not have been as illustrious as Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon), AS Saint-Étienne, or Olympique Marseille historically, PSG has always been a proud old club with an excellent fan base. This is excluding the fact that global stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic found immense success at PSG in recent years, and David Beckham played his final match as a professional footballer while he was playing for PSG.

Verdict:
The rags to riches story about a South American wonder kid is one that has been told countless times, from Pelé, to Maradona, and to Ronaldinho. Therefore, the docu-series offers very little in terms of adding a new perspective in the rise of a global superstar. Despite the relatively high production value, the docu-series falls short and comes off as superficial.