World Cup 2018: Brazil's stars perfect their summer lines in Paris

Neymar has the perfect environment around him in Paris to prepare for a big World Cup with Brazil, writes Andy Brassell...

It was the biggest transfer of the summer in France that didn't happen. Fabinho thought he'd gone as far as he could with Monaco - establishing himself as a top-rank midfielder in Europe, winning Ligue 1 and reaching the Champions League last four - and that he had the Principality club's blessing to move on.

What he hadn't anticipated is that the club's offer to let him go didn't extend to letting him join their domestic rivals Paris Saint-Germain, especially with Kylian Mbappé making the same transfer. Even for an ultra-professional like Fabinho, it was tough to digest. He knew what it meant to not get to Parc des Princes this season, and it wasn't just about having a renewed crack at the Champions League.

Neymar enjoying his pedestal

In essence, Fabinho saw his last chance of making Brazil's World Cup squad for this summer flash before his eyes. With Neymar calling the tune, accompanied by Dani Alves to join Thiago Silva and Marquinhos, the sense is that PSG is the place to be in order to limber up for the seleção, working on group intuition and camaraderie alike.

It's working for the star man, certainly, up to now. Neymar now has 18 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1, and it's difficult to imagine a situation in which he could arrive at the World Cup in better fettle, having been able to lead the pack in a way that wouldn't have been feasible at Barcelona. For Brazil to win back the trophy after the humiliating end to their challenge while hosting in 2014, they need their number ten to be at his very best.

Neymar's current fluency is strongly responsible for Brazil's being second favourites for the World Cup at 6.00 on the Exchange.

Dani Alves key in the dressing room

The support of Alves has been absolutely key in this. The 34-year-old has seen, done and won it all and has quickly become a pivotal figure in the Paris dressing room. He's helped to build Neymar's position off the pitch and brokered a few inevitable ego bumps on it, especially the sometimes fractious relations with Edinson Cavani, who enjoys a lot of support from the squad. Making a big move in the year ahead of a World Cup is always risky, but Alves has certainly made the path smoother for Neymar.

Most national team coaches would prefer to fill their sides with constituent parts from club sides, with the automatisms already fine-tuned, and presumably Brazil's Tite is no different. Even at 33, Thiago Silva remains formidable at centre-back, and now his long-awaited partnership with Marquinhos is fully fledged. Given Brazil's defensive challenges four years ago, it's already a huge improvement, with Roma's in-form Allison likely to be the last line behind them. With the excellent young Frenchman Presnel Kimpembe behind the Brazilian pair in the pecking order but highly capable, PSG coach Unai Emery has no need to flog his first-choice partnership, and they should be able to find the required amount of rest too.

Shared motivation

Most of all, PSG's Brazilian quartet are there reminding each other of where they want to be every day, and have been for six months already, getting each other geed up and focussed on the task ahead. If Brazil are to be successful in Russia, their season of preparation in Paris will have had a lot to do with it. Fabinho, meanwhile, is just left with thoughts of what might have been.