How PSG warned Barcelona about Neymar bid three years ago
So, Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain is actually happening.
The Brazilian’s world-record £200 million move due to La Liga’s concerns that PSG are violating Financial Fair Play rules, but it’s unlikely that these complications will prove anything but a minor hurdle.
The 25-year-old has already said farewell to his Barcelona teammates, with both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez taking to social media to say goodbye.
Neymar has been criticised for his decision to leave Barça, where he has won the Champions League, but any player being offered wages over £500,000-per-week after tax would have a hard time saying no.
He will arrive at the Parc des Princes under immense pressure to deliver major titles to a team that has struggled to turn its immense wealth into success in Europe.
Possible replacements
As for Barcelona, the break up of MSN is saddening. But with an extra £200m to spend, and a month left in the summer transfer window, Ernesto Valverde is widely expected to bring in a high-profile replacement.
Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele is a natural replacement for Neymar, while Paulo Dybala, Philippe Coutinho and Kylian Mbappe have also been linked with big-money moves to the Camp Nou.
What Barça did to push PSG to make Neymar move
PSG’s interest in Neymar last year was well documented but the French club may have actually warned Barcelona about the move in 2014, three years ago.
It came when Manchester City expressed an interest in signing midfielder Blaise Matuidi. Furious, PSG president Blaise Matuidi warned any club looking to sign their players would “face consequences”.
And so Barcelona's attempts to sign Marco Verratti this summer could have been the deciding factor in PSG's decision to make Neymar's move happen.
“I am not worried because they know that if they touch one of our players, then we will be in opposition to them, we'll contact their players,” Al-Khelaifi said, via the Independent.
“We respect all clubs. But if they try to sign one of our players, they'll face consequences.”
Barcelona were open about Verratti interest
Barcelona openly admitted their interest in signing PSG’s Verratti this summer. Indeed, Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu claimed that Italian “would love” to sign for the Spanish giants.
"We know that the player would love to come to Barca but when you call PSG and you talk with the president [Al-Khelaifi], he says that he's not for sale and there is no release clause,” Bartomeu said, per Goal.
And now Barcelona are about to lose one of their most important players. Al-Khelaifi wasn’t lying.