Barcelona Transfer news: PSG star Neymar desperate to move to Nou Camp

Updated: 30th May 2023

Neymar, Jr. has lost no opportunity to air his intentions of leaving his club, Paris Saint Germain; his intended destination – Barcelona. The 27-year old Brazilian superstar has had an uneasy tenure at Paris since his record acquisition by PSG in 2017. Although he has led the Parisienne club to 2 French Ligue 1 titles, European glory in the form of the UEFA Champions League has eluded PSG, thanks to early eliminations from the tournament in the last two years. The £200 million forward is desperate to return to Barcelona where he spent 4 years from 2014 to 2017 and is even willing to take an annual pay cut of 12 million euros on arrival at the Nou Camp. The PSG management have got clear signals about Neymar's intent, but want the Brazilian to announce the same officially. In event the deal does go through, the PSG management have asked for Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho to be included in any deal in exchange for Neymar.

But the pitch has been queered by Bayern Munich who have shown great interest in Dembele. With legendary wingers, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, having left the club, the Bavarian giants are on the lookout for a worthy replacement and the 22-year old French international seems to fit the bill. Barcelona bought Dembele to replace Neymar in the summer of 2017 but he has failed to live up to his £135 million fee and should be happy to see him leave at the right price.

Moreover, the estimated amount of £268 million the Spanish champions may have to spend on Neymar makes any deal involving him unviable. Which is one reason why Barcelona's interest in the Brazilian is on the wane. Add to that, the Qatar Sports Investments, owners of PSG, have categorically stated that they are not interested in releasing their star player for anything less than £300 million at least.

Meanwhile, Barcelona are on the verge of some meaty and worthwhile deal themselves. Atletico Madrid and French international Antoine Griezmann is all set to make a move to Nou Camp for £107 million with the Catalans slated to announce the signing of the striker as early as Monday. It’s reported that both parties agreed terms on a contract over two months ago that’ll see Griezmann partner Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the Nou Camp. It’s believed the arrival of Griezmann could be a prelude to a potential offloading of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.

With an eye to reinforcing their defenses, Barcelona have roped in Ajax back-cum-playmaker Frenkie de Jong for £68 million and are hot on the heels of 19-year old prodigy Matthijs de Ligt from the same club. Furthermore, they are battling it out with Manchester United for French teen midfielder Mathis Rayan Cherki. The 15-year-old is tipped for stardom and has already attracted attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich.

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