What is of more value: The Hype or Result. Neymar Vs Gareth Bale experience

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior was born 5 February 1992. At age 19 won the 2011 South American Footballer of the Year award, won it again in 2012 and received nomination for the FIFA Ballon d’Or, coming 10^th and the FIFA Puskas Award for Goal of the Year.

Neymar played for Santos in 2003 and rose through its ranks, got promoted to their first team and made his debut for Santos in 2009. Was voted the Best Young Player of the 2009 Campeonato Paulista, voted best player as Santos won the 2010 Campeonato Paulista and also top scorer in the 2010 Copa do Brasil and finished the 2010 season with 42 goals in 60 games as his club achieved the Double. Neymar again was voted the best player of the year 2011 as his side retained the state title and Santos also winning the 2011 Copa Libertadores. 

He scored 6 goals in 13 appearance and played key role in securing a Continental Double for his team, a first for Santos since 1963. Received the Bronze ball in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup with Santos making the final but lost to Barcelona.

Pele called him “an excellent player’ while Ronaldiho said, “he will be the best in the world”

On May 27, 2013 Neymar was sign to FC Barcelona for a five-year deal, no detail of the transfer was made available and on June 3, 2013 he was unveiled by Barcelona at the Nou Camp in front of 56, 500 fans, a record turnout for a Brazilian player. Barcelona Vice President Josep Maria Bartomeu said Neymar’s transfer fee was €87.2 million and his release clause was set at €190 million.

A lot of clubs were fighting for Neymar signature, clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid to name a few but he settled for Barcelona. It has however been discovered that Barcelona were not truthful about the actual amount they paid for him and to whom the money was paid to. This has led to the resignation of the President of Barcelona FC and further court cases are still pending.

Neymar was hyped as one of the best players in the world, his partnership with Messi was estimated to become one of the deadliest the world would ever is and it was said he would score goals with ease.

Well, none of these actually happened. Yes he scored goals but not necessary in matches that matter or goals that mattered for that matter. (I love that line)

Barcelona ended with no trophy for the first time since 2008 in Neymar debut season.

Enter Gareth Bale.

Gareth Frank Bale was born 16 July 1989. He is a Welsh Footballer who began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left back and earned acclaim as a free kick specialist. He moved to Tottenham Hotsput in 2007 for a fee of £7 million.

At Spurs he was transformed into a more offensively-orientated player and became an integral part of the team. In 2011 and 2013 he was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year. In 2013 he was also named PFA Young Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year.

September 1, 2013 Bale was signed to Spanish team Real Madrid for a fee reported to be £77 million (€91 million). The English press reported a world record transfer fee of £85.3 million (€100 million), which was above Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer record fee of £80 million (€94 million).

A lot of people said the fee Real Madrid paid for him was outrageous and exorbitant and he wasn’t worth the fee. People said he will not be able to deliver and his partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo would not work and that he would fail in Spain.

But in the finals of the Copa Del Rey, he scored the winning goal and again in the Champions League he scored the goal that gave Real Madrid the lead for the first time against Atletico Madrid, Madrid went on to win the match 4-1 for their La Decima, 10^th European Cup.

Gareth Bale in his debut season for Real Madrid won both the Copa De Rey and the Champions League.

In today’s world, the press, blogs or social media determines what is worth wearing or buying and what’s not, they tell us what’s trending, they hype things that are of little importance as being the best things. We are forced to consider things that we normally wouldn’t all things being equal just because social media says we should. They hype things with little or no value just because someone pays them to do so and we are forced to consider these things as valuable.

So the question that’s begging for an answer is: who is the better player, the Hyped Neymar who won nothing for his club in his debut season or Gareth Bale who in his first season won two major trophies for his club? Your answer!