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BARCELONA - Neymar could be presented as a
Paris Saint-Germain player as early as this weekend for a world record
fee as Barcelona admitted defeat in convincing the Brazilian to stay at
the Camp Nou on Wednesday.
The player has travelled to Porto by
private jet from Barcelona surrounded by his entourage, including his
father and agent Neymar Sr, after saying goodbye to his Barca teammates.
Among that party was Wagner Ribeiro, an advisor to the player, who
claimed PSG would pay his 222 million euro ($260 million) buyout clause
in the "coming hours".
That would more than double the current transfer record set by Paul
Pogba's 89.3 million pounds ($111 million, 105.2 million euros) move to
Manchester United last year.
Media reports suggested that Neymar had gone to Porto, where PSG
sporting director Antero Henrique had worked until recently, to undergo a
pre-transfer medical.
Sources told AFP that he will arrive in Paris on Thursday afternoon.
Earlier, Barcelona ended weeks of speculation by publicly confirming
for the first time the 25-year-old's wish to leave after four years at
the Camp Nou.
"Neymar Jr, accompanied by his father and representative,
communicated to FC Barcelona this morning his decision to leave the
club," Barca said in a statement.
"The club have informed them that the buyout clause in his contract,
that from July 1 is 222 million euros, must be paid in full."
Neymar has been tempted to Paris by an astronomical offer that would
reportedly see his wages tripled to 30 million euros a year after tax.
However, on the field he also faces the challenge of stepping out of
the shadow of five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi to try and
prove himself as the world's best.
"It was a huge pleasure having shared all those years with you, my
friend @neymarjr," Messi posted on Instagram alongside a montage
displaying some of the pair's finest moments together.
"I wish you lots of luck in this new stage in your life. See you soon
tkm," he added. "Tkm" stands for "te quiero mucho" (I love you loads).
"Thanks brother. I will miss you man," Neymar replied.
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).
Clubs can be sanctioned by UEFA for making a loss of more than 30 million euros over a three-year period.
"We will not accept this money from a club like PSG," Tebas told
Madrid sports daily AS on Wednesday. "Especially when this club is
infringing rules and laws."
Champions League dream -
==========================
Winning the Champions League for a first time is the dream driving
PSG's owners Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) to fund a deal that
could herald the start of a new era at the elite level of European
football.
Since QSI's takeover in 2011, PSG have failed to make it beyond the
quarter-final stage - most notably blowing a 4-0 first leg lead to lose
6-1 to a Neymar-inspired Barcelona in the last 16 of last season's
competition in March.
Prising Neymar from the grip of Barca would truly announce PSG's
presence as a contender for the likes of Barca, Real Madrid and Bayern
Munich to fear.
Neymar has formed one of the deadliest strike partnerships in
football history with Messi and Luis Suarez over the past three seasons.
Together they have won two La Liga titles, a Champions League and
three Spanish Cups, whilst Neymar has scored 105 goals and provided 80
assists in just 186 games.
However, his four-year spell in Spain has also been overshadowed by
the murky transfer deal which brought him to Barcelona from Santos in
2013.
He and his parents as well as Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu
face charges of fraud and corruption in an ongoing case brought by DIS, a
Brazilian investment company.
DIS owned 40 percent of the players' rights at the time of the deal
and believe they were deliberately cheated out of their real share due
to the complex structure of the transfer.
Source - TheNation
