Neymar just hasn’t got going yet in 2014. The Brazilian, who ended 2013 on a clear upward trajectory, hasn’t made the start to the year that he would have hoped, having been hampered by an ankle injury and the controversy surrounding his move to Barcelona.

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would dispute that the 22-year-old is enduring a rough patch on and off the pitch. Strikers are judged on goals and Neymar has only hit the back of the net once in 2014 – an inconsequential effort to round off the scoring in the 6-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano.

The Brazilian is struggling to recapture the form he displayed at the end of last year and is misfiring in front of goal. After putting in one of his worst performances in a Barça shirt last week against Real Sociedad, he followed that up this past Sunday by missing a clear-cut chance to extend Barcelona’s lead against Almería and secure a confidence booster in the process.

A combination of injuries and unwelcome distractions can partly explain the forward’s on-pitch woes. Having been sidelined for a month after spraining his ankle in the cup last-16 second leg against Getafe on 17th January, the former Santos man found himself caught up in the political and legal turmoil surrounding the investigation into the deal that took him to the Catalan capital.

According to Marca