August 2 – Despite concerns over financial fair play, Barcelona forward Neymar’s world record €222 million transfer to Paris St-Germain has moved to the brink of completion after he was formally given permission to move according to Spanish and French reports.
The Brazilian international is said to have informed team-mates he wanted to leave the Spanish club and was then told by Barca manager Ernesto Valverde not to train and to “sort out his future”.
Neymar moved to Barcelona from Brazilian club Santos in 2013 for £48.6 million, and signed a new five-year deal in 2016. But he has a release clause set at €222 million, which PSG are understood to be ready to pay.
Earlier this week, there were suggestions that Spanish football authorities and/or UEFA might take action given PSG’s past misdemeanours for breaking FFP rules. In an interview with Mundo Deportivo at the weekend, the league’s president, Javier Tebas, said: “We will [make a complaint about PSG] because they infringe UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules and also the European Union’s competition rules,” he said.
“We will make a complaint to UEFA and if they don’t do anything we will take it to the competition tribunals in Switzerland and Brussels. And, from there, we don’t rule out going through the courts in France and Spain.”
But it would appear the eye-watering transfer is going ahead, doubling the previous world record that Manchester United paid Juventus for Paul Pogba.
Neymar has scored 105 goals for Barcelona, helping them to two league titles, three Copas del Rey and a Champions League crown.
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