Will Neymar leave PSG?

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 4 min read

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar rarely finds himself out of the headlines, and with barely 18 months left on his contract at the Ligue 1 side, it is inevitable that he finds himself linked to the game’s biggest clubs.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus are all habitually linked to the 28-year-old superstar.

Already the world’s most expensive player when he moved from Barca to PSG for £200 million in 2017, are we likely to see another blockbuster move for the Brazil star next summer?

Who wants to sign Neymar?

As one of the game’s foremost attacking stars, with a off-field profile that matches his on-field talents, it is little surprise that Neymar is one of the most in-demand players in world football.

His talents and marketing, though, come with a premium of incredible wages that make him accessible to only the world’s biggest clubs.

And the coronavirus pandemic, which has severed to hit football financially, has only exacerbated this situation.

Neymar in 2020-21

His former club Barcelona, for example, would doubtless love to re-sign the forward but would struggle to find the wages to pay him, let alone fork out a fee. Their prospects of luring him back to Camp Nou are not aided by a legal process against the player, in which they are seeking to claim back wages allegedly overpaid to him.

Juventus, similarly, find themselves in a financially delicate position. Even if they were to offload Cristiano Ronaldo – a swap deal with PSG has been mooted – they would struggle to foot the bill of Neymar’s lavish wages.

Could Neymar move to Real Madrid, then? It certainly appears to be more of a possibility, though Los Blancos will have their finances stretched by their upgrade of the Bernabeu. The biggest stumbling block in this case, though, is that Zinedine Zidane’s side have set their sights on making Kylian Mbappe their top priority. Fail to get the World Cup winner and Neymar suddenly becomes a likelier signing.

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In the Premier League, Manchester United have been linked in the past with a potential move. Notoriously tight fisted, it would be surprising to see a giant move for Neymar sanctioned. This is particularly the case as he goes against their recent policy of signing young, British players. Furthermore, they have been searching for a right winger and not a player to feature off the left.

And would the party-loving Neymar give up the bright lights of Paris – and the easily accessible flights to Rio – for a move to Manchester? It seems doubtful.

Neymar’s contract situation at PSG

When Neymar signed for PSG in 2017, he did so having penned a five-year deal. That has never been reviewed, although it is set to be in the coming weeks. Indeed, the club have confirmed negotiations are underway.

Le Parisien, the local paper, reports that he is interested in signing a new deal. He will not, however, be rushed into doing so.

He wishes to see the ambition of the club. Namely, he only wants to sign if they are to be a factor in the Champions League annually.

PSG are coming off the back of several uninspiring transfer windows and are unlikely to make dramatic changes in January. Neymar’s future, then, may be tied in part to the club’s fortunes in Europe this season. Those balance on a knife edge after defeats to Manchester United and RB Leipzig.