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Neymar will play arguably the most important soccer match of his life today — in an empty stadium in Lisbon, Portugal.

The state of play: Millions will watch on TV as the 28-year-old megastar tries to send PSG past RB Leipzig and into the club's first Champions League final, rewriting his narrative and adding to his legacy in the process.

  • But no fans will be in attendance — a surreal environment for the kind of game that Neymar, and all athletes, dream about as children.

Why it matters: Whether it's the Champions League semifinals, the NBA/NHL Finals, the World Series or the Super Bowl, career-defining moments are going to look a lot different for the foreseeable future.

  • The iconic performances that inspire documentaries will still be broadcast in real-time and preserved forever on video and in photos.
  • But the absence of fans changes how they're ultimately remembered.

The backdrop: When Neymar left Barcelona in 2017 and signed a record-breaking deal with PSG, the plan was to step out of Lionel Messi's shadow, win a Ballon d'Or, and be recognized as the best player in the world.

  • That hasn't happened. Since arriving in Paris, not only has Neymar not won a Ballon d'Or, he's faded from contention.
  • "[T]here is a sense that, when we look back on Neymar's career, we will see the flash, the glamour, the extravagance, and little or nothing more: all style, no substance; a generational talent not quite fulfilled," NYT's Rory Smith wrote back in February.
  • A Champions League title would help change the narrative and alter the trajectory of the Brazilian's still-young career.

The bottom line: Greatness in sports is determined largely by context. The roar of the crowd, the energy in the building — it sets the stage for mere humans to become immortal.

  • Without fans in the stands, some of that magic is lost. And, whether you're an athlete competing or a fan watching from home, meaning is harder to find.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.