Three kilometers to the south, in the executive offices of FC Barcelona, Andoni Zubizarreta sat alone in his spacious office, the glow from his computer screen casting shadows across his face. The Camp Nou was quiet at this hour, the tourists and staff long gone, leaving only the ghosts of glory and the weight of decisions that could never be undone.
On his desk, spread out like an accusation, were the contract papers for Neymar's transfer €57 million plus variables, the future that Barcelona had chosen to pursue. The Brazilian's signature was still wet on the documents, the ink barely dry on what the board considered their masterstroke for the coming season.
But on his computer screen, playing for the third time, was a goal that made every euro spent on Neymar feel like a monument to institutional blindness.
