Winners and losers from Neymar's world-record move to PSG

It surely began as a fantastical idea - an infatuation that seemed little more than wishful thinking for Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Even with all of his blank cheques, it couldn't happen, right?

Incredibly, it did. Paris Saint-Germain, a club thirsting for continental success, made its greatest statement of intent by prising megastar Neymar from the clutches of Barcelona, finally closing the book on the protracted saga Thursday.

Read more: Paris Saint-Germain shatters world-record fee with €222M Neymar nab

Here are the winners and losers from the most expensive transfer in football history.

Winner - Paris Saint-Germain

Obviously.

Paris Saint-Germain, essentially bankrolled by the Qatari government, had to obliterate the transfer record to bring the Brazilian superstar aboard. By spending more than double what Manchester United splurged last season to recoup Paul Pogba, though, the French behemoth procured the services of an attacker who's already one of the best players in the world at 25 years old.

Related: 3 ways Paris Saint-Germain can line up with Neymar

Neymar, the player, is a perennial Ballon d'Or candidate who will spend his prime years at PSG. He offers the club a chance at the Champions League legitimacy Al-Khelaifi so desperately craves. The pressure on him will be enormous, but his arrival instantly makes PSG more likely to get over its continental hump; the club hasn't gone past the quarter-finals in any of the last five seasons in Europe's premier tournament.

Neymar, the person, is the crown jewel of a marketing project that aims to make PSG "the first great club of the digital era," in the words of general manager Jean-Claude Blanc. The star rubs shoulders with the biggest names in sport and entertainment, has his own Air Jordan shoe, and offers an ideal social media profile to capture the attention of young fans.

Many youngsters, enamoured with Neymar, will buy his new No. 10 PSG kit, and many more will take an interest in the club because of his presence.

Paris Saint-Germain wins on the pitch and, perhaps even more importantly, off it.

Loser - Josep Maria Bartomeu

If Neymar's contentious arrival was ultimately the downfall of former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, the Brazilian's departure might prove to be the same for his successor.

Whether anybody could have stopped Neymar from leaving the Camp Nou is debatable, but fair or not, it happened on Bartomeu's watch, staining his resume.

It will also embolden another former Blaugrana executive.

Joan Laporta, who served as Barca president between 2003 and 2010, has not been shy about his disdain for those who followed him at the club, imploring Bartomeu to resign.

"We left (Rosell, Bartomeu, etc.) the greatest Barca in the club's history and they spent their time destroying it," he told the Guardian's Sid Lowe in June.

"Barcelona has been kidnapped. It's hostage to the intoxication, manipulation and lies (of this board) and it's sad. I'm demanding they resign. If they had any shame they'd resign; if they had any shame, they'd have gone when they did a deal with the public prosecutor to make the club, not them, liable in the Neymar case."

Laporta wants to retake the throne, so his criticisms should be subject to a healthy amount of skepticism, but that doesn't mean they're completely misguided.

Winner - Neymar's dad

Jorge Mendes and Mino Raiola, eat your heart out. Neymar Santos Sr., who serves as his son's agent, will reportedly pocket something in the realm of €40 million for brokering the transfer of the century.

Related: At €222M, Neymar is more expensive than all these things

Whether there are repercussions down the line remain to be seen; the elder Neymar's role in the lithe forward's switch from Santos to Barcelona was the source of much debate, landing the aforementioned Rosell in hot water and Neymar's family in court over alleged fraud and corruption.

But as of this moment, he's surely all smiles over his son's opulent switch.

Loser - Ernesto Valverde

Managing Barcelona is already one of the most stressful jobs in world football - just ask Luis Enrique, who was constantly questioned by both fans and the outspoken Catalan media throughout his reign, despite winning nine major titles in three years at the Camp Nou.

Sure, the midfield is ageing and needs reinforcements, and depth is an issue in a couple of areas, but if nothing else, Valverde arrived on the job expecting he could rely on the greatest attacking triumvirate in football history to carry the club through any turbulence.

Lionel Messi is still the best player alive and Luis Suarez probably the most dominant No. 9 - and they'll continue to shred backlines together - but losing Neymar means Valverde is shorn of the services of the most spontaneously exciting forward on the planet.

Good luck replacing that.

Winner - Tite and Brazil

Some day, we'll get an autobiography from Dani Alves detailing how he was the true mastermind behind all of this.

The veteran defender spurned Manchester City for Paris Saint-Germain, and in doing so, almost definitely played a significant role in luring his close friend to the Parc des Princes.

The two men may be the new kids on the block inside Unai Emery's locker room, but they are instantly the faces of PSG's Brazilian revolution. They join club captain Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, and Lucas Moura, while Brazilian-born Italian international Thiago Motta will likely be part of the star-studded posse.

And Maxwell - the beloved former left-back who now acts as an ambassador for the club, bridging the gap between the players and directors - provides a front-office presence for the Brazilian contingent.

With the World Cup fast approaching, Brazil boss Tite must be loving what he sees in Paris. Developing chemistry is always one of the trickiest elements of the job for a national-team manager, as limited time together makes it difficult. Having a handful of players arrive for international duty from the same place will only boost the Selecao's camaraderie.

Loser(s) - Juventus, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund

Time to hide Paulo Dybala, Philippe Coutinho, and Ousmane Dembele.

The Barcelona brass has showed an inability to spend cash wisely of late - particularly last summer when the Blaugrana recruited the likes of Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne, and Paco Alcacer - so there's legitimate reason to worry about how they'll reinvest the €222 million from Neymar's sale.

That said, the three superstars outlined above, along with a few others, just seem too obvious not to be potential targets.

Related: 6 players Barcelona should target in effort to replace Neymar

Dybala has been heralded by many as the heir to his compatriot Messi; Dembele would immediately replace Neymar's dribbling wizardry (he's one of the few wingers who can, really); Coutinho would help offset some of the Brazilian magic that disappeared when Neymar took his talents to the French capital.

Barca may not get any of them - and could miss out on the likes of Eden Hazard, Antoine Griezmann, and Kylian Mbappe, too - but Neymar's departure means the Catalan side will be desperate to make a big retaliatory splash. That should have those in Turin, Dortmund, and Liverpool sweating a little bit.

Winner - La Liga defenders

That sound you hear is right-backs throughout La Liga weeping tears of joy. Rejoice, Neymar is no longer around to torment you with his body feints, blistering first step, impossible lateral quickness, and dizzying array of fancy footwork.

He scored 59 goals over the last three La Liga campaigns, but even more impressive than that are the countless times he ripped out a defender's soul, stomped all over it, threw it in the trash, and then lit the bin on fire.

He's a human highlight reel, humiliating the opposition on the regular; his 5.7 successful dribbles per 90 minutes last season led the Spanish top flight by a significant margin, and represented one of Europe's top marks.

Defenders don't often receive praise. They don't often score mesmerising goals or win individual accolades. They tend to be noticed primarily when they make stupid mistakes or get embarrassed by someone ... like Neymar. For the staunch group tasked with keeping attackers at bay, it's the small victories that count, and not having to deal with Neymar is definitely in that category.

Loser - AS Monaco

Look, AS Monaco retaining the Ligue 1 crown in light of its own summer sales was always going to be a monumental ask.

The club has retooled well, continuing with its successful mantra of focusing on young, exciting talent; Youri Tielemans could prove one of the most astute signings of the summer. But without the likes of Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko and, most crucially, human tank Benjamin Mendy, the squad is objectively weaker than it was when it finally broke PSG's Ligue 1 hegemony.

Monaco could yet lose prized teenager Mbappe, too.

Barring something miraculous, the Ligue 1 title is heading back to Paris.

Bonus: Is Gerard Pique the biggest loser in all of this?

"He stays."

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)