PSG and the noble art of procrastination
With the Neymar debacle, Paris-Saint Germain have brought a whole new meaning to the art of leaving things to the last minute, writes Alfredo Relaño.
Procrastinate is a word I only recently fully learned, despite it defining something I have always done. It can be easily translated as putting off until tomorrow something that can be done today. On the other side of the non-procrastination coin is the old adage... do not leave until tomorrow that which can be accomplished today. And it’s naughty cousin: leave until tomorrow that which you can’t be bothered to do today, that way you’ll die with our account still open. Somewhere in between is the grey area of doing something because there is no option other than to do it and those are the ones that fire the adrenalin and cause a temporal sense of fearlessness. And because of that they often reap wonderful results.
Neymar stays, Keylor arrives
Well, that’s precisely the case with PSG. Leaving everything to the last minute, they find themselves stuck with Neymar who now has little choice but to bow in penance, reconcile with the fans and live as though he is a football player, if he wishes to continue being one. Meanwhile, the Ligue 1 side have signed Mauro Icardi, another asset for their front line, and have taken Keylor Navas off Real Madrid’s hands, the Costa Rica stopper notable not having missed a single knock-out stage game during Madrid’s dominant Champions League run. Sergio Rico will act as back up to Keylor, while PSG have sent Alphonse Areola in the other direction – a keeper so unreliable that he shared his duties last season with 40-year-old Gianluigi Buffon, who we all would have preferred to see retire peacefully in his pomp.
Wasted time
And there lie the advantages of the noble art of procrastination. Another matter is going hell for leather for something where there is little desire on anybody’s part to actually make it happen. That has been the case with Real Madrid and Barcelona in their “pursuit” of Paul Pogba and Neymar. It’s the equivalent of pretending you’re going to take an exam, wander around carrying all the right books, then not show up. The “'bomba' or two" Zidane alluded to (was he trying to fool himself?) have not materialised and they never showed any signs of doing so. With the dust settled, Barcelona have lost Rafinha, Madrid have parted company with Keylor and PSG, who had already signed Ander Herrera and Sarabia, have improved their goalkeeping options and their attack. What I wonder, is in which direction those tasked with Financial Fair Play are looking?