The 21-year-old is expected to sign his contract on Monday after making his farewell appearance in the Brazilian league on Sunday night. Neymar has been courted by both Barcelona and Real Madrid since 2011, with both Spanish clubs believed to have had bids of around £21.3 million accepted.

Neymar used his Instagram account on Saturday night to confirm he will be heading to the Nou Camp.

“I’m here with friends and family and they have helped me to write a few things,” he said.

“I’m not going to hold out until Monday. My family and friends already know my decision. On Monday I will sign a contract with Barcelona.”

Neymar’s current deal with Santos was due to expire after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Brazilian Neymar move Barcelona  has been confirmed, but will he thrive alongside the likes of Lionel Messi or is he set up for a monumental disappointment?

Barcelona football is the most important element in terms of physical strength to a weak team. Lionel Messi there was no field against last year Chelsea, this year’s Chelsea,this year Bayern Munich matches.

There’s already more than Barca to meet the physical degradation of Messi, Neymar is now the luxury of another soft foot to hold Barcelona ?As the 2012-13 season draws to a close, Barca, despite their fourth La Liga title in five years, are a subdued organisation. The clinical, methodical dismantling at the hands of Bayern, coupled with their own insipid capitulation, once again raised the question ofMessidependecia. Without him this immortal team appear fallible. Without their god-like genius, they are ponderous. Susceptible. Beatable. Paris Saint-Germain almost seized upon it. Bayern relentlessly exploited it.

Messi IS Barca, some believe. Pedro, Villa, Tello, Alexis – they aren’t offering enough, say others. Now, the  cockatoo in the room becomes apparent; Neymar can provide that which is lacking when Messi is unable to deliver.

Barcelona’s agent in South America, Andre Cury, is a fully paid-up member of the Neymar appreciation society.

“Neymar coming to Barcelona will put an end to two types of over-dependence: dependence on Neymar at Santos and over-dependence on Messi at Barcelona as we would then have another player at his level.”

Much of the Barca baiting is, of course, kneejerk and overblown. Yes, the degree of dependecia can on occasion be apparent to all. But does bringing in a player such as Neymar, and the package that travels with him, positively impact that?

Whether it is healthy or not, the established order is understood by almost all. Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique have said as much; Messi is the man they turn to, the MVP who must be protected, indulged, even – like an NFL quarterback.

And he’s earned their obsequiousness. 310 goals, three Champions Leagues, four Ballons d’Or. His team-mates recognise he is better than them. It’s taken years of proving this on a consistent basis to bring us to this point, the Messidependecia that is almost accepted practice.

The current pyramid of power sees Messi placed as close to the pinnacle as it’s possible to be; Tito Vilanova and Sandro Rosell are, and probably should be, bound by the needs and wants of the man who has made the modern incarnation of the club the fantasy of even the most emphatic Cule.

Neymar changes all that. Leaving aside the fundamental flaw in regarding a player who, with the greatest of respect, has produced fleeting moments of brilliance against a level of opposition that falls considerably short of the European standard, in the same breath as Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or even Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is completely ludicrous.

Leaving aside everything about him as a player; how his selfishness in possession, his wastefulness in pursuit of self rather than team dynamic, is the antithesis of everything that Barcelona are, and will look to retain.

Leaving aside this extrapolated transfer saga, creating a sense of wonderment and unfair anticipation as to what he can conceivably achieve.

Barcelona’s apprehension should be primarily concerned with the fact that Neymar is a sponsored behemoth. He represents Football 2.0; a box office hit, created in advance of his achievements. An ‘A’ list film star purely based on the trailer alone.

The seemingly innumerable parties with a vested interest in Neymar make him a sideshow act, one that juggled on the wing to lure the highest bidder. Neymar’s playing time becomes as much about endorsements and screentime as it does with his compatibility with Messi or the Barca philosophy. Hell, Madrid offered him more money, but Nike ramped up the endorsements.

Andre Cury further escalates the optimism. “Messi will be able to pass on the baton to Neymar, just like Ronaldinho did with Messi.”

Such high praise seems incompatible with how a young, burgeoning star – and let’s face it, that is all Neymar is, at just 21 – should be managed when moving from South America to Europe. Players generally switching continents for superstardom are coddled, but ultimately protected from reaching a scenario where their reputation precedes them. Few make the grade, even less can handle the pressure. Barca have been burned before.

Yet in Neymar’s case, the opposite seems to be true. There is a crushing ambition to have the Brazilian mentioned in the same breath as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. If ever a player has been set up for a monumental fall, it is poor Neymar – stuck in a faux-environment where, in the minds of many, he is already a better player than he is ever likely to become.

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