Neymar forces Barca exit
Two leagues at war over £198m deal
Neymar finally bought himself out of his contract with Barcelona last night to seal his £198million move to Paris SaintGermain and become the most expensive player in history.
It followed a battle between the French and Spanish leagues over the payment of his world-record fee.
The head of Spain’s La Liga, Javier Tebas, did his best to sabotage the transfer by rejecting attempts by the Brazilian to pay his buy-out fee at the league offices yesterday morning.
With the French season starting tonight and Neymar desperate to make his debut for PSG at home to amiens tomorrow, the Spanish League — still reeling from losing a poster-boy player — appeared to have succeeded in bringing the deal to a temporary halt.
But the sports lawyer representing Neymar, Juan de Dios Crespo, later deposited the cheque directly with Barcelona to free the player to be presented as PSG’s new signing today.
Last night Neymar said: ‘ I am extremely happy to join Paris SaintGermain. Since I arrived in europe, the club have always been one of the most
competitive and most ambitious. The biggest challenge, what most motivated me to join my new teammates, is to help the club to conquer the titles that their fans want. Paris Saint-Germain’s ambition attracted me to the club, along with the passion and the energy this brings.
‘I have played four seasons in Europe and I feel ready to take the challenge.
‘From today, I will do everything I can to help my new team-mates, to open up new horizons for my club and to bring happiness to its millions of supporters around the world.’
La Liga president Tebas had threatened to not accept Neymar’s payment in an interview earlier in the week. He believes the French side are breaking Financial Fair Play regulations with the world record transfer and has also pointed the finger at Qatar’s government, who he claims are bankrolling the club with financial injections tantamount to illegal state aid.
Tebas had told Diario AS: ‘In terms of PSG, it is a clear case of financial doping, with the club and the state.
‘PSG’s accounts show that they have a larger commercial income than Real Madrid and Manchester United, which is to say that the value of their brand is greater than those clubs. Well, that is impossible.’ It is for UEFA not the Spanish League to decide which clubs cross the FFP line but La Liga were unrepentant yesterday and Tebas carried out his threat despite criticism from their French counterparts.
A statement from the French League (LFP) said: ‘The LFP is surprised and does not understand the refusal of La Liga to simply accept the payment.’
Tebas insisted he was not blocking the transfer because Neymar could deposit a cheque in a notary in Barcelona or pay the 8222million sum himself to the Spanish League by bank transfer.
Both options would have ended up costing Neymar and PSG more in tax but, in the end, the lawyers representing the player pulled up at club offices at the Camp Nou — scene of his presentation just four years earlier — and closed the deal to release him.
‘It is with immense joy and pride that we welcome Neymar Jnr to Paris Saint-Germain,’ said club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, last night.
‘Neymar is one of the very best players in world football.
‘His winning mentality, strength of character and sense of leadership have made him into a great player. He will bring a very positive energy to this club.
‘In six years, we have built a very ambitious project that has already taken us to the highest level of national and European football. Today, with the arrival of Neymar, I am convinced that we will come even closer, with the support of our faithful fans, to realising our greatest dreams.’
Spanish football is clearly upset at the prospect of losing Neymar. Delaying his presentation, which PSG had always wanted to take place today, would have represented a victory of sorts.
The Tebas decision also seemed to be rooted in a European Commission case last year that ended up punishing Spanish football for perceived illegal state aid. But the delay caused by La Liga’s show of strength did Barcelona no favours.
They were furious at PSG for having already given Neymar his medical when they whisked him to Porto on Wednesday night despite the player still being under contract in Spain.
But they also want to move ahead with their own transfer targets as they look to rebuild following the loss of the 25-year-old attacker.
Despite the insistence of Jurgen Klopp that Liverpool will not allow Philippe Coutinho to leave, the Brazilian midfielder remains Barcelona’s priority signing.
They are also interested in Ousmane Dembele of Borussia Dortmund. Sportsmail understands an alternative to Dembele, who is valued at 890m, could be the significantly cheaper Angel di Maria.
The Argentine, currently at PSG, would arrive as a stopgap until in a year’s time they could target Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, whose buy-out clause will have returned from 8200m — this summer’s price while the club are banned from registering new players — to 8100m.
The Di Maria option, however, would require a major thawing of relations between the two clubs.
Neymar claimed on social media last night that his father did not want him to leave Barcelona, a claim that is sure to raise eyebrows at the Nou Camp. In reality, a private jet had waited for him at Barcelona’s El Prat airport throughout yesterday ready to fly him to Paris.
Lawyers were investigating the possibility of seeking a provisional transfer pending a resolution of the dispute. But by nightfall it was clear that would not be necessary with the player free to sign his new deal with PSG.