Brazilian talents that should have achieved more in their careers

• Some Brazilian talents have been regarded as one of the best of their generation but never reached their potential.
• We look at the best Brazilians who should’ve done more with their Samba magic.

The latest well-known player to join the Saudi Pro League is Neymar, who, at the age of 31, agreed to a €90 million transfer to Al Hilal.

In football, it’s uncommon for a player to be regarded as one of the best of their period if not one of the all-time greats, while still leaving behind a sense of “what might have been.” However, some of the finest Brazilian footballers have started to make this a repeating pattern throughout the previous few decades.

We look at the best Brazilians who should’ve done more with their Samba magic.

Ronaldo Nazario

Ronaldo Nazario. Photo/ Mediotiempo.

In the middle of the 1990s, Ronaldo Nazario‘s rise was genuinely spectacular. He dominated the Eredivisie, La Liga, and Serie A while twice smashing the transfer record in the process. He also won a Ballon d’Or, two Fifa World Player of the Year honors, and the European Golden Shoe. With a ball at his feet, there seemed to be no end to what he could do and what he could do.

Disaster came when Ronaldo damaged a tendon in his right knee in November 1999, sidelining him for five months after two explosive seasons with Inter Milan. But the pain was only made worse when, against Lazio in April, six minutes after making his comeback, he ruptured all of the muscles in his knee, which his physiotherapist called the “worst football injury” he had ever seen.

Ronaldo made a full recovery in time to help Brazil win their fifth World Cup in 2002, which helped him land a transfer to Real Madrid and his second Ballon d’Or. He was able to regain some of his prior form, but despite this, he was plagued by fitness and injury issues up until his retirement in 2011.

Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho’s career is a tall tale of success on the pitch. Photo/Eurosport

Ronaldinho is one of those players that, for many football fans of a specific generation, helped them to fall in love with the game. He was one of the greatest and most skilled footballers of all time, and he played the game in a way that every youngster on the street wished they could. Ronaldinho’s big break in Europe came from PSG, and although thriving on the field, he frequently found himself in conflicts with manager Luis Fernandez because he had reportedly gotten used to the lavish lifestyle that frequently goes along with being a professional athlete.

Ronaldinho received a call from Barcelona the following summer after combining with Ronaldo to lead Brazil to World Cup victory in 2002. His fast feet, explosive speed, and penchant for theatrics gave the side a fresh lease on life when he first arrived in Catalonia. He assisted La Blaugrana in winning back-to-back league championships in 2005 and 2006.

Ronaldinho had committed himself to training and maintaining his own personal fitness under Frank Rijkaard’s direction, and as a consequence, he had attained the pinnacle of European football. His old vices and habits persisted even as he continued to work his magic on the field for Barcelona. Many people thought he was already in decline when injuries derailed his fifth season at Barcelona and his late-night partying habit finally caught up with him.

Even though he could still display flashes of brilliance when he had the ball in his hands, his career suffered in the latter stages due to deteriorating health and what seemed like a lack of commitment.

Neymar

Neymar Injury. Photo by New York Times

One of the first athletes to gain from the emergence of social media was Neymar, whose highlight reel made him famous even as a youngster playing for Santos. He soon rose to the position of football’s golden kid in Brazil because he had all the characteristics that would come to characterize his game and, in fact, those that characterized his forebears. In 2013 Barcelona secured his signing.

After a season of adjustment, Neymar established his footing as a member of the renowned “MSN” front three, possibly one of the best ever put together, along with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. During the 2014–15 season, the three scored 122 of Barca’s 172 goals across all competitions, with Neymar contributing 39 goals to the Catalans’ sixth Champions League victory.

Neymar continued to improve from that point on, eventually becoming as one of the top players in the world and being widely predicted to succeed Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the finest player in the world. Nevertheless, rumors over his future persisted during the 2016–17 campaign, and he was more frequently associated with moves away from the Camp Nou.

Neymar’s release clause was activated by Paris Saint-Germain after a protracted and drawn-out controversy making the Brazilian the most expensive football player ever.

Things didn’t exactly go as planned because he frequently had ankle problems in France, which made his stay there less than ideal despite his consistently outstanding performances on the field.