NEYMAR’S TRAINING GROUND BRAWL EDGES HIM NEARER TO PSG SWITCH
NEYMAR stormed out of Barcelona training yesterday after a fight with new signing Nelson Semedo. The Brazilian superstar has been linked with a worldrecord £196million switch to Paris Saint-Germain and his walkout looks to have made that move even more likely. After the forward scored in training, he and right-back Semedo tangled in a challenge for the ball, with the striker squaring up to the new arrival from Benfica. Javier Mascherano intervened and Semedo ran back to the game, but Neymar called and gestured after the defender, and had to be restrained by Sergio Busquets. The furious striker tore off his training bib and threw it to the ground as manager Ernesto Valverde stood nearby. Neymar fired a ball off the crossbar of a nearby goal, and booted another ball away as he left the field. Flanked by a member of the Barcelona staff, he then went out into the car park and left the training area entirely. The session took place in Miami, with Barca on tour in the US. Neymar has been in excellent form, scoring three goals in two tour games. The sticking point in the potential transfer to PSG is that the French side want to avoid paying the £196m transfer fee in one go. They would have to pay the £196m to Neymar for him to deposit the sum with the Spanish league to free him from his contract. This could lead to a dispute with the French taxman, who may class the payment by PSG to Neymar as taxable income. But if PSG can persuade Barcelona to treat the deal as an orthodox transfer they will avoid tax complications and pay the money in stages.