Neymar Jr. has reportedly informed the Paris Saint-Germain management that he wishes to leave the club this summer.
Lionel Messi left PSG for Inter Miami earlier this summer, while Kylian Mbappe has one foot out of the door amid interest from Real Madrid. In addition, it looks like Neymar Jr. could leave the club by the end of the summer transfer window, although the forward’s father has denied that his son wants out of PSG.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Paris Saint-Germain are open to selling Neymar, as they embark on a new era under former Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique.
The Brazil international, 31, has two years left on the current contract he signed in 2021. The forward’s decision to exit has been influenced by the protest of PSG ultras in front of his house in May this year, with the fans asking him to leave the club this summer.
Neymar recently returned to action after an ankle injury sustained in March had sidelined him for months. Having been linked with a move back to Barcelona, should the Spanish champions look to re-sign Neymar this summer?
Neymar remains the most expensive footballer ever after PSG signed him in 2017 from Barcelona for a world-record €222 million. Since then, the Brazilian has gone on to make 173 appearances for Les Parisians, scoring 118 goals and providing 77 assists.
At Barcelona, the 31-year-old was part of the team’s golden Messi-Neymar-Suarez trio that slaughtered teams left, right and centre in La Liga and across Europe. Neymar was outstanding during his days at Barcelona where he was considered among the best players by many. However, he hasn’t been able to hit the same heights during his time in the French capital and now is looking to leave the club after six years.
With that being said, Barcelona should stay away from the situation surrounding Neymar at PSG. The Catalan giants are about to lose Ousmane Dembele to PSG after the French champions triggered his €50m (£43m) release clause shortly before it expired in July. With money raised from the sales of Dembele and Franck Kessie, Xavi Hernandez and Barcelona must focus on recruiting a new right-back rather than bringing Neymar back to the club.
At 31, Neymar is perhaps past his prime and has become injury prone of late. He has missed many games for PSG in the last few years because of persistent ankle injury problems. Plus, Barcelona would need to pay huge wages to the brazil international, and it’s no secret they are under financial turmoil and their wage bill is already very high after years of reckless spending. And with Xavi’s team heading in a new direction, it doesn’t make sense to sign Neymar.
All in all, Barcelona would be wise to strengthen the priority areas of their squad rather than spending a huge outlay in re-signing Neymar this summer.