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Neymar – nothing is happening

L’Équipe have provided an update on the future of Brazilian attacker Neymar this evening and insist that nothing new has happened. Barcelona are still yet to make an offer, the Brazilian still wants to leave, PSG still want to sell him, but only for €300m.

The Catalan giants cannot afford him at this price and would have to sell multiple players in order to make the deal happen. Reports in the Spanish media earlier this week saying that PSG had revised their demands for Neymar to €180m are false, according to sources contacted at the capital club.

Barcelona have to date not made a single formal bid to PSG, only one verbally, which was €40m + Ivan Rakitic + Philippe Coutinho. A bid, by the way, that Barcelona made without asking the two players included if they would be willing to participate. It is currently a game of chicken, both sides want to do a deal, but PSG have 0 intention of making it from their end seem that way by making an effort to sell him to Barcelona, or they lose valuable leverage.

Sources at the Catalan club have told the newspaper that “all possibilities” exist. One of them would be to do a deal on the basis of a loan with obligation to buy, with a huge loan fee, in the image of the model adopted for Kylian Mbappé’s arrival from AS Monaco in 2017. An idea that does not displease the Brazilian attacker’s entourage.

From the Paris side, unsurprisingly, this is far less appealing – PSG have made it clear that if Neymar is to go then they want cash, liquid, and they want to replace him immediately, not in 2020.

Whilst PSG have not set an internal deadline as to when this situation must be completely resolved either way, there are murmurings that the club want it done with by the 10th August, the start of the new Ligue 1 campaign.

Contacted by the newspaper, from the Brazilian’s camp, they are not in a hurry: “Discussions continue,” they say.

When asked if there was a possibility that “Ney” would stay for the 2019/20 season, they simply replied: “No.”