Now Neymar is Messi’s heir at Barca

The forward now enjoys a privileged position in the Catalans’ squad comparable only to that of the Argentine superstar and he will enjoy equal standing over the coming years.

Just as Neymar - eventually - showed he has no doubt his football future lies at Barcelona, the club has also given their Brazilian a huge vote of confidence. His new bumper contract spells out one fact: the Blaugrana have chosen him to carry the club standard once Lionel Messi is ready to stand down from his role as the world’s most dazzling football star.

‘It will make the headlines across the world when we announce,’ President Josep Maria Bartomeu had teased ahead of the official confirmation of the contract extension. He was barely exaggerating. The deal thrashed out between Neymar, his advisers and his employers, months in the making, surely means the Selecao captain has committed the best years of his career to the Catalans.

The terms of Neymar’s contract tell the full story. The player lengthened his link to Barca until June 2021, when he will be 29, and he becomes the second-highest paid player on the team behind Messi. The handover, however, is already in the pipeline, as made evident by the various clauses contained in the agreement.

During the coming season, for example, Neymar’s buyout fee climbs just €10 million to €200 million, while the Argentine wizard’s release clause is a whopping £250 million. The year after, however, the forward’s price climbs again to €222m and in June 2018, he will achieve parity with La Pulga. At that point Messi will be celebrating his 31st birthday, while Neymar will be just 26 years old.

That is the point, Barcelona predict, that the ex-Santos man will take a joint-starring role alongside his team-mate. The clause will remain identical to Messi’s until 2021, when Neymar will be 29 and the Argentine, 33.

The new contract is also an unmistakeable statement by the Catalans that they did not err in signing Neymar. There may be some regrets over the way it was carried out, which embroiled the club and player in legal traumas; but the move itself is beyond reproach. Three years in the Blaugrana shirt have convinced both his club and the football world that he is not simply another good player, but a game-changer just like Leo.

Both players are made of something special, although the pair have very different styles and attitudes both on and off the pitch. But Barcelona have bet on Neymar carrying on Messi’s phenomenal record, and his new contract marks him out as the natural heir once the Argentine’s incomparable powers start to wane.