Current Neymar situation

Neymar is back in Paris and met with Paris Saint-Germain to discuss the soap opera that is enveloping around him, as well as his decision to join pre-season training a week late, even though Neymar’s camp claim that it had been agreed beforehand.

The meeting between Neymar and Leonardo, PSG’s newly-appointed sporting director, was relatively brief, and the player trained alone at the club’s Camp des Loges facilities.

Neymar’s future, therefore, has not made any progress as his situation has not changed following the meeting. PSG have not received any offers for the 27-year-old, while there is serious doubt that Barcelona could conjure up an offer appealing enough for PSG to part ways with the Brazilian. Neymar seems very sure that Barcelona are going to come to his rescue, especially after the recent interview in which he said his greatest memory in football was beating PSG with Barcelona.

However, inside the Parc des Princes, they are clear that they are not in a position where they will be bullied by either Neymar or Barcelona; if an offer doesn’t satisfy them, they won’t sell. Neymar himself is aware of PSG’s power, so his only hope is that either the French side reduce their demands or Barcelona manage to somehow get together the necessary funds or pieces necessary to bring him back to the Camp Nou.

As MARCA have said previously, PSG’s usual method when it comes to punishing players is to withhold their behaviour bonus for that month, which in Neymar’s case would see him lose out on 375,000 euros. The Parisians intend to deal with Neymar’s possible sanction internally.

PSG do not want to fuel more rumours about the forward’s future, particularly as it is just talk that has circulated thus far about Barcelona’s interest, and they believe that there is a situation where Neymar actually stays at the club. Of course, they would need to diffuse any tension with the player himself if this were to happen. Many will point back to PSG’s position with Adrien Rabiot, who was unable to finalise a new contract in Paris and was subsequently banished from being around the squad before leaving on a free this summer, but it is worth remembering that Antero Henrique was the sporting director as that situation escalated, rather than Leonardo.

For Neymar, his position at PSG is not the only thing that needs to be cleared up. He remains adamant that he deserves the 43.5 million euro bonus payment that was included in his contract renewal at Barcelona in 2016, with the Catalan side paying 20m euros of it at the time of the deal being concluded, but he was set to receive the second instalment on July 31, 2017. That payment never arrived as the Blaugrana were convinced that he was about to join PSG, as is what happened two days later. Barcelona, meanwhile, argue that the 20m euros they paid should be returned as the bonus was linked to Neymar remaining at the Camp Nou for the entirety of the contract, which would have lasted until June 2022.

It is not just his future and the bonus payment issue that needs to be resolved. The Spanish Treasury, according to Mundo Deportivo, are demanding 35m euros from Neymar due to irregularities in his financial statements from his four years in Barcelona. On top of this, there is the case of alleged sexual assault against a Brazilian model in Paris which is currently being investigated by the Brazilian justice system.