Neymar saga continues, with the rumours of the Brazilian moving back to Barcelona getting stronger every day. As it was announced this week Barcelona approached PSG with a cash + player bid for the 27-year-old star, however, the Ligue 1 champions remain firm on a €222 million price tag, which has put the transfer on halt.
PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 23: Neymar Jr of PSG during the French Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and RC Strasbourg Alsace at Parc des Princes stadium on January 23, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
The rumours of Neymar wanting to return to Barcelona which started months ago have proven to be true and are now closer to reality as they ever were. In fact, it did not take long after his departure to PSG in August 2017 for rumours of Neymar wanting to return to the surface. While he enjoyed a successful campaign with PSG in Ligue 1, the frustrations arose after yet another disappointing performance of PSG in the Champions League, which made the Brazilian consider re-joining Barcelona this summer. Following weeks of speculations, if the move will or will not happen, Barcelona made it public they wish to welcome back Neymar to their squad. As recent reports suggest the LaLiga champions made a move and approached PSG with a bid of €40 million + Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.
But according to sources PSG are not too keen on the offer and decided not to sell the Brazilian for no less than €222 million, which is the exact same sum of money they spent for him in 2017. At first glance the offer of Barcelona may seem highly appealing, however, we need to consider PSG already have Mbappe, Cavani, Draxler and Di Maria in their squad, meaning they are understandably not interested in adding new faces to their attack. This could also mean PSG would end up accepting money + player bid if Barcelona adds defensive players to the deal instead. Should Barcelona reconsider their offer and pay the full sum or approach it with adding other faces to the deal, Neymar would finally return to his former team. However, there is one more thing the Brazilian will have to do before he would get the blue and purple shirt in his hands.
As reported Barcelona demand Neymar to publicly apologize and admit he has made a mistake when he left Barcelona in 2017. Additionally, he would have to drop all the legal disputes he has with Barcelona and would have to agree on a wage cut. While the demands of Barcelona may seem a bit harsh, it was made public Neymar is ready to fulfil his part of the deal as he is not happy in Paris and has a huge desire to return back “home”.
With Neymar’s heart at Barcelona, all that stands in his way of returning back is the disagreement between the clubs who have different ideas on how to approach the deal for the Brazilian. Nonetheless, the deal is expected to be settled before the transfer window ends, mostly due to clear indication Neymar wishes to leave, which is something PSG should respect. While the clubs talk about the deal, speculations arose which suggest we could potentially see a deal which would loan out Neymar to Barcelona with an option to buy. That approach would give the Catalans the needed time to get the needed funds for his transfer. While a possible solution, no official reports have appeared stating that kind of deal has been a topic of discussion between PSG and Barcelona just yet.
