It seems that Neymar came fairly close to leaving Barcelona this summer.
Last week, his agent Wagner Ribeiro revealed that the Brazilian superstar was on the verge of a move to Paris Saint-Germain with them willing to offer him an insane amount of money, while Manchester United were also keen.
“He (Neymar) was close to joining PSG,” Wagner Ribeiro told Brazilian media.
“He would have earned €40 million a year net.
“Neymar was also close to a spell at Manchester United, but he extended his contract to earn less at Barcelona because he wanted to stay at Barcelona.”
And now, according to a report by Marca, we know the full details of the package offered by PSG – and it goes far beyond a huge salary.
They claim that the French champions were actually willing to pay Neymar and eye-watering €50 million-per-year, making him the highest-paid player in world football.
Not only that, PSG would have brought a private jet for Neymar to enable him to travel to Brazil matches during the international break, as well as a share in a new chain of hotels that would use his name.
Ribeiro claims that their very first meeting took place in Ibiza this summer with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Neymar, and his father all in attendance.
A second meeting then took place in Sao Paulo, where PSG confirmed that they were keen to trigger Neymar’s €190 million release clause.
“We were talking for two hours and Neymar was excited,” Ribeiro told ESPN Brasil, per Marca.
“Al-Khelaifi explained that tax would not be an issue and he’d be No. 1 in the team, which cannot happen at Barcelona.
“I told Neymar it was an unrealistic proposal, he’d become the highest paid player in the world.
“If Neymar stayed in Barcelona it’s because he’s happy there, in the club and the city. I wanted him to go to PSG but his father advised him to stay.”
So, Neymar eventually decided to turn down the offer of ridiculous amount of money, a jet and a hotel chain to remain at Barcelona and maintain the ‘MSN’ of him, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.
However, after his agent has revealed PSG’s willingness to part with so much money in an attempt to attract Neymar to their club, surely they will come in for him again next summer. Maybe they’ll throw in a few supercars next time to seal the deal.
GiveMeSports.com