Barcelona striker Neymar Owen Humphreys
Owen Humphreys
Updated 12.10pm
BARCELONA HAVE CONFIRMED that Neymar has requested to leave the club with Paris Saint-Germain poised to land the striker for a world record fee of €222m.
The Brazilian had informed his Barcelona teammates earlier that he is leaving the club, a Barca source told AFP.
“The player came to train as scheduled and announced to his teammates that he is leaving.
“The coach has given him permission to not train and to manage resolving his future.”
“The player Neymar Jr, accompanied by his father and agent, has informed FC Barcelona this morning of his decision to leave the club in a meeting held at the club’s offices.
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“Faced with this position, the club has informed them they refer to the buy-out clause of his existing contract which as of 1 July totals 222 million euros which will have to be deposited in its entirety.
“Furthermore, in reply to the claim for the contract extension bonus, the club has once again made it clear that the amount remains deposited with a notary until the case is resolved.
“The player remains under contract at FC Barcelona but with temporary permission to not take part in training sessions.
“Shortly we will add the comments of club spokesman Josep Vives on the subject of Neymar.”
Speculation over the 25-year-old’s future has dominated the first few weeks of new Barca boss Ernesto Valverde’s reign with PSG reportedly willing to pay Neymar’s 222 million euro ($260 million) buyout clause.
Such a fee would smash the current record £89.3 million ($111 million, 105.2 million euros) Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba last year.
Neymar arrived back in Barcelona yesterday from a fleeting promotional tour to China after playing in all three of Barca’s glamour pre-season fixtures in the United States against Juventus, Manchester United and Real Madrid.
He arrived for training at 9am local time this morning but left left less than an hour later.
Neymar is pictured arriving at Barcelona's training grounds this morning. Manu Fernandez
Manu Fernandez
Presuming both clubs don’t come to a late agreement, the buyout clause would have to be paid to Barcelona via Spain’s La Liga to free the player from the contract he signed last year and runs until 2021.
However, La Liga president Javier Tebas has threatened not to accept PSG’s money over what he perceives as a failure on the French side’s part to comply with UEFA’s financial fair play rules (FFP).
“We will not accept this money from a club like PSG,” Tebas told Madrid sports daily AS today.
“Especially when this club is infringing rules and laws.”
Barcelona have also threatened to report PSG to UEFA over any potential breach of FFP.
Clubs can be sanctioned by UEFA for making a loss of more than 30 million euros over a three-year period.
PSG have already been fined and saw their Champions League squad limited by UEFA for breaches of FFP in 2014.
Barcelona confirm Neymar's desire to leave as PSG poised for world record €222m signing
Updated 12.10pm
BARCELONA HAVE CONFIRMED that Neymar has requested to leave the club with Paris Saint-Germain poised to land the striker for a world record fee of €222m.
The Brazilian had informed his Barcelona teammates earlier that he is leaving the club, a Barca source told AFP.
“The player came to train as scheduled and announced to his teammates that he is leaving.
“The coach has given him permission to not train and to manage resolving his future.”
Now Barcelona have issued a statement themselves on the 25-year-old’s future.
“The player Neymar Jr, accompanied by his father and agent, has informed FC Barcelona this morning of his decision to leave the club in a meeting held at the club’s offices.
“Faced with this position, the club has informed them they refer to the buy-out clause of his existing contract which as of 1 July totals 222 million euros which will have to be deposited in its entirety.
“Furthermore, in reply to the claim for the contract extension bonus, the club has once again made it clear that the amount remains deposited with a notary until the case is resolved.
“The player remains under contract at FC Barcelona but with temporary permission to not take part in training sessions.
“Shortly we will add the comments of club spokesman Josep Vives on the subject of Neymar.”
Speculation over the 25-year-old’s future has dominated the first few weeks of new Barca boss Ernesto Valverde’s reign with PSG reportedly willing to pay Neymar’s 222 million euro ($260 million) buyout clause.
Such a fee would smash the current record £89.3 million ($111 million, 105.2 million euros) Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba last year.
Neymar arrived back in Barcelona yesterday from a fleeting promotional tour to China after playing in all three of Barca’s glamour pre-season fixtures in the United States against Juventus, Manchester United and Real Madrid.
He arrived for training at 9am local time this morning but left left less than an hour later.
Presuming both clubs don’t come to a late agreement, the buyout clause would have to be paid to Barcelona via Spain’s La Liga to free the player from the contract he signed last year and runs until 2021.
However, La Liga president Javier Tebas has threatened not to accept PSG’s money over what he perceives as a failure on the French side’s part to comply with UEFA’s financial fair play rules (FFP).
“We will not accept this money from a club like PSG,” Tebas told Madrid sports daily AS today.
“Especially when this club is infringing rules and laws.”
Barcelona have also threatened to report PSG to UEFA over any potential breach of FFP.
Clubs can be sanctioned by UEFA for making a loss of more than 30 million euros over a three-year period.
PSG have already been fined and saw their Champions League squad limited by UEFA for breaches of FFP in 2014.
*Additional reporting by © AFP, 2017
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