India, July 6 -- MetLife Stadium gave Neymar his first cap in 2010 and his final goodbye on Sunday.

Sixteen years apart, the iconic venue, home to the NFL's Giants and Jets, witnessed two completely different chapters of one of football's most captivating careers. In 2010, after being overlooked for Brazil's FIFA World Cup squad in South Africa, the teenage Neymar made his senior debut and scored, instantly reinforcing the belief that he was Brazil's next Pele. On Sunday, he found the net once again against Norway, but this time the goal came from the penalty spot in stoppage time during a losing cause, as the 34-year-old walked off in tears following Brazil's Round of 16 exit.

That image perhaps captures the Neymar paradox better than ...