PSG is ready to take bids for Neymar, according to Le Parisien. However, whether the French club can find a team willing to match his salary demands remains debatable.
After Kylian Mbappe’s major new contract, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is reportedly mulling a sale of Neymar Junior, who was acquired by the French club in the most expensive transfer ever.
According to Le Parisien, the star forward will be available for sale as a result of “direct orders” from Qatar.
PSG is anticipating offers for the Brazil international, whose contract runs out in 2025, ahead of the summer transfer season.
The 30-year-old’s exorbitant salary, though, will make a prospective sale difficult for the French champions.
According to previous estimates, Neymar is paid £490,000 per week, which is the club’s second-highest wage after Lionel Messi’s.
The Brazilian’s record-breaking £198 million move from Barcelona in 2017 has turned out to be a letdown, as he never fully established the domination on the European stage that PSG had hoped for.
The former Santos ace has a total of 100 goals and 60 assists from all the 144 games he appeared in across all competitions and leagues.
However, since PSG’s Qatari takeover in 2011, Neymar has been unable to lead the club to the Champions League trophy, which has been the club’s primary aim.
After Mbappe signed a new lucrative contract with the Ligue 1 giants, more great players could be on their way out, but the former Barcelona star is said to be at the top of the list.
The striker shunned a move to Real Madrid despite being linked with the club for nearly a year.
Kylian Mbappe’s new three-year deal with PSG
Mbappe has chosen to remain at Paris Saint-Germain, rejecting an expected transfer to Real Madrid earlier this week.
Real Madrid, the La Liga winners and Champions League finalists, was allegedly close to finalising a deal with Mbappe until his abrupt U-turn. The World Cup champion, who joined PSG from Monaco for €180 million in 2017, was set to leave on a free transfer when his current contract expired.
The Madrid-based football club, which was willing to pay €230 million for Mbappe on Deadline Day last summer, was prepared to offer him a signing-on fee of £110 million and salary of £20 million per year after tax. The club’s entire investment would have cost almost £300 million.
Mbappe grew up supporting Los Blancos and claims that playing for the team has always been his dream.
His signing marks a triumph for PSG’s Qatari owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who hopes that the French forward will be one of the faces of the Qatar World Cup.
PSG is said to have offered Mbappe a monthly salary of £4 million, which would make him the highest-paid player in the league. However, Al-Khelaifi has refused to disclose the actual amount.
An extension would also bring in a massive signing-on fee of almost £100 million, with image right concessions as well as bonuses for goals, Ballon d’Or award honours and Champions League wins.
The announcement enraged Spain’s La Liga, which called the transaction “scandalous” and said it would lodge a complaint with UEFA, as well as French and EU authorities.
