Conjecture, man, conjecture...
That article of yours blows. How on earth do you manage to judge the ability of a player solely on minutes played and shots on goal? I mean, seriously...
Let's take a look at some of the great wingers of our time: Pires, Robben, Ribery, Henry (granted, more of a striker, but functioned as a winger as well), Giggs and Figo, who won the Ballon at the age of 28 (I believe). I'd argue that they all improved during their mid-twenties and probably even close to reaching 30. At the opposite end of the spectrum we obviously find the likes of Dinho and Robinho who both fit your theory. They were both felled by terrible off the pitch discipline, boozing and partying, and I know you want to believe that Nerman is cut of the same cloth as those two. You'll judge me as naive and overly optimistic again, but I believe that Nerman will handle his life way, way better than his compatriots. He doesn't drink, and I can't imagine that Lucho (or even bigger partys such as Nike and our board) will let him travel on his days off, if they fear that those trips will cut his career short. I'll rather bracket him with Dani in terms of handling his fun loving recreational side.
All in all it's simply faulty to assume that he'll stagnate once he hits 25-26. And even if we go with you doomsday scenario, and accept that he'll only improve for another year or so, he'll still reach a level that's impossible for nigh any other player currently out there. Maintain that for 3-4 years from then on, and we'll have the best left winger in the world for a long, long time to go. I can live with that...
I was reading that article a few years ago, on some other debate on some other forum about player's and sportsmen's physical peaks.
But I can post you tons of similar articles.
If you are bored, just tell me, I'll find tons of similar stats.
After reaching a physical peak, player can improve only on a tactical and psychological level.
And since Ney's psychological level is very questionable, it is quite reasonable to ask yourself whether he can improve too much in general from this point.
About the other part of your post, we again come down to whether we are happy with what Ney is offering to our team.
I am personally NOT happy with what is he bringing to a team.
I expected much more and in my eyes his transfer tag and wages "promised" something more from him.
So, it is a matter of personal taste.
If he would offer the kind of crap which he was offering this season for another 3-4, well, I would be (and I probably WILL be) extremely pissed with him all the time.
About guys which you are mentioning.
Pires: a footballer, devoted to football. Of course that he improved in late 20s and played good then
Robben, the same
Ribery, the same
Henry, the same
I get your point, you are posting those names to show how there actually ARE good wingers in late 20s.
But you are forgetting a fact that a pacey winger/forward needs a lot of psychological devotion to only stay fit in late 20s, and especially to improve in those years.
Also, about Ney's potential growth after the age 24-25:
Messi was aged 24 in this match. Actually 23 and 11 Months:
Neymar in THIS moment (July of 2016) is already 5 Months older than Messi on the video above.
So, current Neymar is already OLDER than Messi on his prime.
Did Messi ever surpassed the level of his form/abilities after this moment?
My opinion is still that Neymar is probably ALREADY at his peak. And that what we see is what we will ever get from him.
And if he'll improve, that will be in tiny, tiny amounts.
Anyway:
1. can Neymar stay on the current level for 3-4-5-xx years=yes. If he'll fix his head
2. can Neymar improve a lot in the future=highly unlikely
3. can Neymar soon start to lose some of his abilities=very likely also
My post was aimed at posts where people more or less say between the lines that Ney has so much to learn, and he has so much room and time for improvement.
That just doesn't make too much sense since he will be 25 in the middle of the next season (February 2017).
Btw at this point in his Barca career R10 started to decline.
True.
I am not saying that Ney will decline that soon.
But imo, he has reached his peak.
He can "only" stay here now.
Improvements after this point?
I don't believe in that scenario.
