KOCHI: When FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain lock horns in the UEFA Champions League next week, it will revive a storyline that has been playing out in world football for quite some time.
There were always going to be question marks over who was going to take over the mantle from Lionel Messi at FC Barcelona when the Argentine wizard eventually departed Camp Nou.
While that question is all the more pertinent right now, it seemed like the Catalan giants had the answer right in front of them.
Neymar Jr was establishing himself as one of the best footballers in the world alongside Messi when he shook the footballing world by agreeing to a world-record transfer move to Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
Neymar might have reached last season's Champions League final with the Parisians and been picking up domestic titles for fun, but the move is still questioned by many.
The 29-year-old was much loved by the Barcelona faithful as well as the players and was among the fan favourites.
Former Brazil and Olympique Lyon midfielder Juninho Pernambucano had recently suggested that Neymar was motivated by money more than anything else.
However, former Real Madrid and Sevilla player Julio Baptista, who is currently a La Liga ambassador felt that his countryman was fuelled by a different kind of ambition.
"I don't think it's necessarily like that. I think all players have a right to feel important and they have these challenges. Their professional careers are full of challenges," said Baptista while speaking during a virtual interaction arranged by La Liga on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old who has played alongside superstars knows that they are driven by the desire to be the best.
"As for Neymar, one of the things that he is missing would be the World Cup and also to be the best player in the world. I think he left Barcelona to be able to try and have these different options," said Baptista.
Neymar alongside Messi and Luis Suarez formed one of the most lethal strike partnerships that the world has ever witnessed.
While Messi's future at Barcelona is up in the air, Suarez is now at Atletico Madrid and Neymar is leading the charge for PSG.
"He thought that if he continued to play with Messi, despite the fact that they were good friends, he really didn't think he would have that option. So I think that's why he left Barcelona to try and have that option somewhere else," Baptista suggested.
The fact that Neymar has tried to engineer a move back to Barcelona in the past is an indication that he misses his time at the Camp Nou. Even Barcelona didn't want to part with him and it's a question of how things would have panned out had Neymar stayed.
It might even have convinced Messi to stay at Barcelona but the club are now looking at life without the Argentine legend which would have been easier had Neymar stayed. If Messi does leave, Baptista feels that even a reunion with Neymar is even possible.
"He would probably want to go to a big club where he can win a lot of titles like Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain because these are clubs where he could have the same options like he has at Barcelona," said the Brazilian.