Neymar is on track to leave Paris Saint-Germain, following in the footsteps of former teammate Lionel Messi away from the French champions in a tumultuous summer.
A source familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that Neymar’s departure is being negotiated at the end of this month. The man spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential talks.
The 31-year-old Brazilian striker would have expressed a desire to leave for PSG this week, just a few days before the team starts defending their Ligue 1 title. His favorite destination would be Barcelona, the club he comes from. left for a record €222 million ($244 million) six years ago.
PSG, owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, is also grappling with uncertainty over Kylian Mbappe’s continuation at his hometown club.
New coach Luis Enrique will hold a press conference on Friday ahead of the team’s French league debut against Lorient on Saturday.
Luis Enrique managed Neymar during some of his best years at Barcelona. With a South American trident consisting of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez, the Catalans completed a trident of Champions League, Spanish League and Copa del Rey titles in 2014-15.
Eight later, it was never clear if Luis Enrique Neymar was an important part of his project, despite Messi leaving to sign with Inter Miami and a contract conflict with Mbappe.
Mbappé has spent weeks training with relegated teams, facing PSG because he wants to complete the final season of his contract and then join Real Madrid as a free agent next year.
PSG claim they can’t let Mbappe go for free and want to sell him now if he doesn’t agree to extend his contract.
Although PSG accepted a record €300m ($330m) offer for Mbappe from Al-Hilal, the Frenchman refused to meet Saudi club officials when they visited Paris.
The Saudi League could also be a destination for Neymar. Your clubs, which are financially supported by the stadium, can easily cover the cost of your pass and the salary it will require.
Barcelona spent half of the proceeds from the sale of Neymar in 2017 to acquire Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund. This month, the French striker sounded like a possible addition to PSG, possibly replacing Neymar for the second time.
Just this week, PSG signed Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos, who has signed him on a one-year, permanent loan from Benfica.