People seem to forget the fact that Neymar has played the majority of his career under Enrique. A coach who has shown that he is not tactically astute and one who has destroyed the squad by buying a ton of unnecessary players. A coach who refused to sign a right back in the summer even when he knew that the team needed one.
Individual consistency and team performance are not mutually exclusive. Hazards performance for Chelsea last season is a prime example of how a broken team can affect the best individuals within the team.
For the most part, Neymar has had to play in a broken system. This Barcelona side does not even have a midfield! There is no clear passing network or structure in place. Everything that happens on the field is merely spontaneous and as a result of individual brilliance.
The most crucial years of Neymar’s Barcelona career has been spent playing under clueless management. Don’t let the treble fool you, we only won that because we have Messi to save us. But sure, let’s blame Neymar for being inconsistent even though he has not had the support he should be getting from management.
Did you ever wonder why Messi was always criticised in the early parts of his Argentina career? People always said that Messi does not play the same way for Argentina as he does for Barcelona. This is because he always played in a broken team. It was not his fault.
The opposite is now true for Neymar. Brazil seems to be a more cohesive team therefore Neymar is more consistent for Brazil. Barcelona, like Argentina, has become a broken team.