It’s official, Neymar to leave Barca
PSG WILL HAVE TO PAY RELEASE CLAUSE OF €222M IN FULL IF THEY HAVE TO PRISE AWAY THE BRAZILIAN FROM CATALANS
BARCELONA: Barcelona confirmed Neymar’s wish to leave the Catalan giants on Wednesday, but insisted the Brazilian’s €222 million buyout clause must be paid as his potential world record move to Paris Saint-Germain moved a step closer.
“Neymar Jr, accompanied by his father and representative, communicated to FC Barcelona this morning his decision to leave the club,” Barca said in a statement.
“The club have informed them that the buyout clause in his contract that from July 1 is €222 million must be paid in full.”
Such a fee would smash the current record €105.2 million Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba last year. Neymar has also been given permission to not participate in training after making a brief appearance at Barca’s training ground on Wednesday.
Speculation over the 25-yearold’s future has dominated the first few weeks of new Barca boss Ernesto Valverde’s reign. Neymar arrived back in Barcelona on Tuesday from a fleeting promotional tour to China.
He turned up for training on Wednesday morning, but left less than an hour later after telling teammates “he is leaving”, a Barca spokesperson confirmed.
FORMALITIES REMAIN
Presuming both clubs don’t come to a late agreement, the buyout clause would have to be paid to Barcelona via Spain’s La Liga to free the player from the contract he signed last year and runs until 2021.
However, La Liga president Javier Tebas has threatened not to accept PSG’s money over what he perceives as a failure on the French side’s part to comply with UEFA’s financial fair play rules (FFP). Clubs can be sanctioned by UEFA for making a loss of more than €30 million over a three-year period. “We will not accept this money from a club like PSG,” Tebas told Madrid sports daily AS on Wednesday. “Especially when this club is infringing rules and laws.”
Barcelona have also threatened to report PSG to UEFA over any potential breach of FFP. PSG have already been fined and saw their Champions League squad limited by UEFA for breaches of FFP in 2014.
Winning the Champions League for a first time is the dream driving PSG’s owners Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) to fund a deal that could herald the start of a new era at the elite level of European football.
Since QSI’s takeover in 2011, PSG have failed to make it beyond the quarterfinal stage in recent seasons — most notably blowing a 4-0 first leg lead to lose 6-1 to a Neymar-inspired Barcelona in the last 16 of last season’s competition in March.