Caveats for Neymar

Neymar, Neymar, Neymar. Everywhere you look you see the young, wild, and fast Brazilian. At the tender age of 20, Pele has already deemed Neymar "better than Messi". His performance with Santos has put Neymar at the top of nearly every European club's transfer list, including (but not limited to): Barcelona, Chelsea, Juventus, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid.

It may look like smooth sailing for Neymar, but there have been plenty of promising players who ended up fizzling out. Three Brazilians in particular: Robinho, Kaká, and Ronaldinho. All great players, but none of them truly lived up to their potential. 

 Robinho

"O que aconteceu?"

The early careers of Robinho and Neymar are strangely similar. Robinho's explosive style of play earned him impressive numbers as a teen at Santos. Pele spoke very highly of him, naming the young Robinho his heir apparent. Nearly every team in Europe wanted the Brazilian prodigy.  Sound familiar?

At 21, Robinho took over as Real Madrid's number 10.  Everyone was eager to to see what the newest member of the Galácticos could do. But his stats started slipping. Only averaging .247 goals a game in La Liga, Real no longer wanted to invest in Robinho and let his contact run out.

After becoming a free agent, Manchester City hoped he'd have better luck in the Premier League. But after one and a half seasons, one mediocre and the start of a terrible one, City loaned Robinho back out to Santos. Since then, he has joined AC Milan were he is seeing some success. But this is by no means the Robinho that was supposed to take over the world of soccer.   

Kaká

From Player of the Year to soccer's most skilled beachwarmer

When dressed his AC Milan kit, it looked like the sky was the limit for Kaká. As a reserve member of the 2002 Brazil squad, Kaká won his first world cup at age 20.  A few years later, Kaká was named FIFA Player of the Year. With one generation of legends retiring, Kaká looked like he would be ushering in the new era of soccer.

Kaká's € 65M move to Real Madrid meant he would be joining superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuaín,  Rafael van der Vaart, Raul, and Sergio Ramos. It was Kaká's chance to become a legend: join one of soccer's most famous clubs and return them to their former glory.

However, Kaká has struggled in white. In his three years, Kaká has been unable to hit double digits in either his single season goal or assist tallies. Kaká's unimpressive form lead to Madrid sign German superstar, Mesut Özil, in 2010. With Kaká being one of the most expensive benchwarmers, Real are rumored to be looking to transfer the 30 year old. Sad situation for the once promising star.

Ronaldinho

Only two years at the top

Possibly the saddest story of all is that of Ronaldinho. His crooked tooth smile made him one of soccer's most familiar face. His style of play dazzled fans and made defenders tremble in their cleats.  Inventive, skillful, and lethal. Unleashing never before seen tricks at PSG, eager eyes looked towards this special player.

Moving to Barcelona in 2003, Ronalindho brought new energy to the struggling giant. Ronaldinho lead FCB to two league cups and one Champions League title. On the individual side, Ronaldinho was crowned back-to-back FIFA Player of the Year awards. But soccer's happiest player was plagued with all sorts of injuries during the 2007-2008 season. 

Looking for a clean start, Ronaldinho left Barcelona for AC Milan in 2008. Unfortunately over his three seasons at Milan, Ronaldinho only manged to net 20 goals (1 less then his 2006-2007 tally). Now Ronaldinho is bouncing between no-name Brazilian clubs, looking like a shadow of his former self.     

Another young Brazilian destined for disappointment?

And what can young Neymar learn from his fellow countryman's woes?

Robinho: Nothing. Just pray his God given talent doesn't give out.

Kaká: Neymar needs to be ready to adapt to the most competitive leagues. Neymar has proven his skill in the Brazilian league, just as Kaka had in the Italian league. However, if Neymar ends up in La Liga or the Premier League, he needs to be ready to match the intensity of those leagues.  

Ronaldinho: He can't get complacent. Ronalinho rose to the top and fell into mediocrity in a span of 5 years. Had Ronaldinho returned from his injuries to Barcelona, there's no saying what he could have accomplished with the team that was tailored around him. Instead, he felt that he had left enough of a legacy and entered his "declining years" four years too early. Neymar needs to compete with his past performances, always striving for more goals, more titles, and more highlights.     

So will Neymar become a soccer idol, worshiped by generations to come, or will he ended up being yet another Brazilian flop? Only time will tell!