Neymar has told PSG he wants to quit the French club after six years in Paris, according to reports.
The Parisians made the Brazilian the most expensive player in history in 2017 – a title he still holds – but the forward and his family have come together and decided they want to pursue a new challenge elsewhere.
The £198m addition and his agent, Pini Zahavi, informed PSG of their desire following their return from their pre-season tour.
L’Équipe state that Neymar has decided he wants to move back to Barcelona, the team he left six years ago with the Catalan outfit open to his return. It was the LaLiga side who first bought the forward to Europe in 2013 following his success in his homeland with Santos.
Neymar has another four years remaining on his deal at the Parc des Princes but is said to still be affected by the protest from the PSG ultras who staged a demonstration outside his house in the spring. The 31-year-old also feels as though the French club are not doing enough to protect their players.
It is yet another blow for the Parisians this summer as they look to rejig their squad. As things stand, they could lose their big-name front three of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all in one summer. PSG currently want to offload Mbappe, who won’t be signing a new deal.
They want to avoid losing him for nothing and president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is determined to get a fee for the Frenchman, who he believes has an agreement in place to join Real Madrid for free in 12 months time.
The Neymar news will only add to his woes as new boss Luis Enrique looks to shape his squad in Paris. Neymar and Enrique previously worked together at the Nou Camp, combining as Barcelona won the treble in 2015, but the Brazilian has no plans to renew that relationship.
PSG begin their Ligue 1 campaign on Saturday at home to Lorient. Neymar and Mbappe currently remain on their books but should both secure exits then the French side will be lacking a marquee name in the final third. Hugo Ekitike was signed from Rennes permanently this summer.
Marco Asensio and Milan Skriniar joined on frees from Real Madrid and Inter Milan respectively after their contracts expired. Notable sums were also spent on Manuel Ugarte, who was on Chelsea’s radar, and Lucas Hernandez -Mirror.