Paul Pogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Gonzalo Higuain - only Neymar could have pipped them in the transfer race. He's now laughing all the way to the bank because a nearly ?200 million transfer is not ordinary. Paris St Germain are rejoicing because they now have a crock of gold - jersey sales, more ticket sales during home games, more sponsors who want to associate with the Brazilian.
And roughly 1,100 kms away, Barcelona have their biggest concern to address - getting Neymar's replacement to play alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. After all, someone has to complete this trio.
Here are some options:
Rumours doing the rounds suggest that Barcelona have already bid for Dembele. But Dortmund are not to keen on getting this done. Barcelona had an ?72 million offer for Countinho, and after rejection, they looked at Dembele. More rumours suggest that Dortmund are looking for a better deal to send Dembele to Barcelona. The 20-year-old already has aspirations to play for Barcelona. He has performed exceedingly well for the German club and his biggest advantage is that he can play on either wing, just like Neymar.
If this happens, it will be one Brazilian replacing another. Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp is certainly not in favour of his move. He's already asked the Catalans to keep this transfer bid away from The Reds. As you read above, Barcelona were ready to offer as much as ?72 million for the 25-year-old forward. Obviously because Coutinho scored 13 goals in the last season - becoming the joint-top scoring Brazilian across Europe's top five leagues. There certainly is opposition from Klopp, but little can be done if Coutinho is keen on the deal.
Di Maria's position at PSG will obviously be threatened once the season kicks off. Because their manager Unai Emery would obviously want Neymar to start. This could be the right time for him to move on and salvage pride. And he would clearly be a way too economical option for Barca - that is, if they're not in the mood to spend money for Neymar's replacement. Plus, Di Maria and Messi played outstanding football during the 2014 World Cup. If Barcelona have this in mind, deal done.
Mbappe would be Barcelona's ideal catch. He's 18 years old, can be trained further and has already played for Monaco. His credentials for a teenager are way too solid. He was once linked with a transfer to Manchester United, but it fell through. Now if Barcelona show interest in this talented kid, it will be an awesome situation for the club and the player. Now Barcelona should do that before Real Madrid cement their offer.
Now Barcelona very well know what this guy is made of. Although he had a below-average season last year - only 11 goals - his drubbing of Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final proves his mettle. Dybala would be a great buy for Barcelona because he is just 23 years old and will only improve his game from here. And if Dybala is spurred by the thought of playing alongside Lionel Messi, nothing like it.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was quoted as saying by Mirror that they would use the money earned on Neymar's transfer properly. "We will invest the 222 million euros with common sense. We will invest it in players and assets ¡ª it won¡¯t all go on signings."