“His defining move, though, was his 2017 transfer to Paris Saint-Germain for €222m, more than doubling the previous world record, not only delivering for their Qatari owners a talented player but also making a show of their economic might while inflating the market, pushing up prices to a level it was very difficult for clubs without enormously wealthy state-backers to match. The collateral damage for football was vast and cemented Neymar’s position as 21st-century football’s Zelig, somehow always there as the game took another lurch into sordid absurdity”