After months of speculation, Neymar’s potential return to Barcelona is a real thing and talks are underway between both clubs to try and make it happen.
The Catalans officially decided to make a move for the Brazilian this week following talks between the club’s board and sporting staff at a summit.
We covered that initial report and those that followed that stated Barça would be sending an official written offer and were hoping to get Neymar on an initial loan and pay for him next summer.
Le Parisien cover the situation today and say that Barcelona have submitted an formal bid to PSG for Neymar, but it was quickly rejected.
PSG aren’t interested in loaning Neymar with a purchase option; they want a permanent sale. Thus, they turned down
Barça’s initial offer of €40m with a purchase option of €150m.
Primarily the French club want a straight transfer because they treat it as a matter of principle and question why they should go out of their way to facilitate Neymar’s departure after the numerous financial sacrifices they’ve made for him.
There’s also the issue of money. They need whatever they’ll make from a sale of Neymar to fund a move for Paulo Dybala, as well as their hunt for a new ‘high-level’ goalkeeper.
Le Parisien believe they could need to spend at least €100m to get both of those players and as such, they need more money than is being offered.
There is a chance that a ‘paid loan’ could resolve the issue, but at present, the numbers Barcelona are suggesting are nowhere near enough.
