Paris, Wednesday @PeopleSports11
Neymarhas told Paris Saint-Germain he ‘wants to go home’ and admits he should ‘never have left’ Barcelona.
The Brazilian swapped Barcelona for Paris in 2017 for a world-record fee of £198million.
But his future with the Ligue 1 champions has remained a constant source of debate, with reports in Spain revealing he has finally told them his stance as he pushes for a move back to Barcelona.
PSG boss Thomas Tuchel, as report by Mundo Deportivo, is said to be exasperated by the ‘problems’ Neymar creates in the dressing room and is not against a potential departure.
The player has now made private feelings about wanting a move back to Barcelona known to the PSG board as he steps up his exit plan.
Neymar is reported to have told PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi: ‘I do not want to play more in PSG. I want to go back to my house, where I should never have left.’
Further to Neymar’s desire to return to the Nou Camp this summer, Lionel Messi wants to see the Brazilian come back, according to El Mundo.
Their report details that the Catalan giants could try to ‘transfer their existing agreement for Atletico Madrid ace Antoine Griezmann’ directly to PSG, in a bid to secure Neymar.
Griezmann, who looks set to swap Madrid for Barcelona, would then go to PSG and Neymar would return to Spain.
Relations between Neymar and the club appear to have soured in recent months with Al-Khelaifi taking a swipe at the forward in a interview this week. ‘I want players willing to give everything to defend the honour of the jersey and to join the club project,’ he said in an interview with France Football.
‘Those who do not want, or do not understand, we see each other and we talk to each other. ‘There are of course contracts to be respected, but the priority now is total membership of our project.
‘Nobody forced him to sign here. Nobody pushed him. He came knowingly to join a project.’ Neymar’s contract in Paris runs until 2022 but with interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid, few expect him to see out his contract.
The Brazilian is currently sidelined through an ankle ligament injury, missing the entire Copa America and so his club future is the big talking point around the player right now.
Another factor in any potential exit for Neymar involves his relationship with team-mate Kylian Mbappe.
The relationship between the World Cup winner and Neymar is reported to have been strained for parts of last season with both feeling they are the superstar of the side.
While Neymar’s future continues to look less and less likely it is in Paris for the long-term, Mbappe poured cold water on a potential exit this month by insisting he ‘will be at PSG next season’. -AFP
