Neymar pays up to force Barca exit
PSG get their man despite Spanish attempts to stall
NEYMAR, the most expensive player in the history of football, finally bought himself out of his contract with Barcelona last night after a dramatic battle between the French and Spanish leagues. The head of Spain’s La Liga, Javier Tebas, did his best to sabotage the £198million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, by rejecting attempts by the Brazilian player to pay his buy-out clause at league offices yesterday morning. With the French football season due to start 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 record-breaking 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 in Paris today. Last night, Neymar said: ‘I am extremely happy to join Paris Saint-Germain. Since I arrived in Europe, the club have always been one of the most competitive and most
ambitious. And the biggest challenge, what most motivated me to join my new team-mates, is to help the club to conquer the titles their fans want.
‘Paris Saint-Germain’s ambition attracted me to the club, along with the passion and the energy this brings.
‘I played four seasons in Europe and I feel ready to take the challenge. 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.’
Earlier, La Liga president Tebas had threatened not to 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, who he believes are bankrolling the club with financial injections tantamount, in his opinion, 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 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.’
La Liga chief Tebas insisted he was not blocking the transfer because Neymar could deposit a cheque in a notary in Barcelona or pay the 222m euros (£198m) sum himself to the Spanish League by bank transfer.
Both options would have ended up costing Neymar and PSG more in tax but lawyers representing the player pulled up at club offices at the Nou Camp and closed the deal to release him.
‘It is with immense joy and pride that we welcome Neymar Jr to Paris Saint-Germain,’ said Nasser AlKhelaifi, president of the French club. ‘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.
‘We have built a very ambitious project that has already taken us to the highest level of national and European football. 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.
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.
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 remains Barcelona’s priority signing.
They are also interested in bringing in Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed the Neymar transfer is ‘beyond rationality’.
He said: ‘It is the consequence of the ownerships that have changed the landscape of football.
‘The numbers are now comparable to the NBA. They are out of context with society. It is beyond rationality.’