Daily Mail

NEYMAR STAYS AWAY AHEAD OF £196m PSG MOVE

- By PETE JENSON

NEYMAR did not arrive back in Barcelona yesterday with his team-mates and should complete his £196million move to Paris Saint-Germain this week, pending agreement between the two clubs over how the world-record transfer will be paid. Barcelona are demanding the player deposits his ¤222m (£196m) buy-out clause money with the Spanish league to release him from his contract. PSG prefer to avoid paying the fee to the league because it means releasing all the funds immediatel­y and incurring additional tax costs. They want the deal to take the form of an orthodox transfer and are willing to include a player — Angel di Maria — as well as the ¤222m. Barcelona are in no mood to make life easy for the French club, however. The Catalans had insisted Neymar would stay, but now say they will ask UEFA to investigat­e how PSG have the money to pay a clause they expected no club in the world to be able to meet. Neymar is in China today fulfilling commercial commitment­s of both a club and personal nature. Unconfirme­d reports appeared in Brazil at the weekend suggesting that he would then fly to Doha and sign a £270m five-year publicity contract to promote the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Neymar flirted with clubs last summer but then extended his Barcelona contract until 2021. Neymar Snr, his father and representa­tive, is due to receive £22m today for his part in that. The Brazilian was the star of Barcelona’s US tour that finished on Saturday night with a 3-2 win over Real Madrid in Miami.

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