The Neymar to Barcelona saga takes a huge U-turn

Rumors of Neymar Jr. pushing for an exit from Paris Saint-Germain have been on the rise with FC Barcelona being in pole position to sign the Brazilian back. The two clubs however haven’t been on good terms lately and things seem to have become even more complicated with each passing day.

Marca report that Paris Saint-Germain have offered their Brazilian superstar to Real Madrid. This move comes as a surprise given the fact that the french club had no intentions of letting Neymar go, but it seems that they rather don’t have any intentions of letting Neymar go to Barcelona. The relation between the two clubs went sour back in 2017 when the Catalan club tried to sign Marco Verratti. PSG nevertheless announced to the footballing world by snatching Neymar away from Barcelona for a world record sum, that if clubs go after their players behind the curtains, they can be very dangerous.

Neymar has not settled in with the French champions and his spell in Paris has been marred with injuries, especially during the crucial half of the season. Unhappy with his overall attitude, club president Nasser Al Khelaifi also called out the Brazilian in a public statement saying that no one forced Neymar to join the club and that if any player doesn’t respect the clubs project, they are free to leave. Given the occurrence of events over the past few weeks, PSG, well aware of the fact that Neymar has to depart,  seem to have offered Real Madrid the chance to sign the Brazilian forward just so that he doesn’t leave the club to go back to Barcelona.

However, as per the reports, Los Blancos have turned down the prospect of signing long-term target Neymar. There can be two preliminary reasons that can be cited for Madrid rejecting Neymar, firstly the excess of players the Spanish giants have in attack and secondly the Brazilian’s poor conduct. Neymar has been subject to disciplinary measures both in the Ligue 1 and the Champions League, facing a three match ban in both the competitions. Los Blancos don’t seem to be on the lookout for an addition to their attack as they currently seemed to be more focused on offloading players like Isco, Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez who seem to be surplus to requirements at the club after the likes of Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic and Rodrygo arrived at the club.

Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain however share a very good relationship and have a ‘friendly rivalry’ with the presidents of both the clubs being good comrades. If PSG would have offered Neymar to the Madrid giants a month or half earlier, then the entire scenario would’ve been different but as of now the only viable destination in case Neymar departs the club would be Barcelona.

PSG have kept all options open however, and have even considered getting Phillipe Coutinho on board. As per ESPN, Barca president Josep Bartomeu publicly said that Neymar wants to leave PSG but the club aren’t willing to let him go.

Will Neymar find a new club or will he remain at PSG when the transfer window comes to an end?

• Published on 07/06/2019 at 10:50 AM EST
• Last updated on 07/06/2019 at 9:51 AM EST