Barca and PSG have 'everything agreed' for Neymar transfer

Stuart Telford

• 2 Jul 2023 06:31 CDT
• 3 min read

Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are closing in on agreement that would see Neymar return to his former club, according to beIN SPORTS.

Neymar remains the most expensive transfer of all time after PSG activated his €222 million release clause, a move which plunged Barcelona into crisis according to the club's economic vice president Eduard Romeu.

Barca panicked, paying over the odds for potential Neymar replacements like Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann, and eventually lost Lionel Messi on a free to PSG as a result.

READ: 'We lost the plot' - Barcelona chief makes STUNNING Neymar admission

The Blaugrana wanted to bring Messi back to Camp Nou this summer, and set about activating yet more 'economic levers' to facilitate such a move. But now that the club legend is moving to Inter Miami, they have shifted their focus to his former teammate.

'Everything agreed… except salary'

"Neymar will play in Barcelona if Paris pays the bulk of his salary," reports beIN SPORTS' Khaled Waleed. "Everything is agreed upon between the two clubs, except for the salary, which remains the core point of contention."

Neymar is currently on €56.4m a year before tax at PSG, which makes him the second highestpaid player at the club after Kylian Mbappe, who's €72m-a-year deal made him the game's top earner before Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Al-Nassr.

READ: What are the most expensive transfers of all time? The 50 highest fees in history

Neymar has 13 goals and 11 assists in 20 Ligue 1 games for PSG last season before undergoing ankle surgery in February, giving him a goal-involvement of one every 65 minutes he played.

But he has been a problematic character in the French capital with his late nigh exploits and yearly attendance of his sister's mid-season birthday party, and Mbappe reportedly wants PSG to offload him.

PSG will acquiesce if it increases their chances of keeping Mbappe out of Real Madrid's hands, and that dynamic could drive down the cost of a Neymar deal for Barcelona.