Neymar to stay at PSG as Barcelona plot summer 2020 deal after transfer failure

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Ben Hayward2 September 2019

Barcelona will not be signing Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the transfer deadline on Monday night, but the Catalan club are expected to renew efforts to bring back their former forward in summer 2020.

PSG’s sporting director Leonardo said on Friday that the Brazilian could still leave if the right offer came in and on Saturday, Barca’s director of institutional relations, Guillermo Amor, did not rule out a late twist in the proceedings.

But the Catalans were ultimately unable to put together a financial package to re-sign the former Santos attacker, with Ivan Rakitic, Jean-Clair Todibo and Ousmane Dembele unwilling to be used as makeweights in a player-plus-cash deal.

Barca’s also proposed a loan option, with the transfer to be made permanent next summer, but PSG also rejected that idea and the Catalans could not offer enough funds to pay for the forward in a straight cash deal.

Neymar, who is currently in Miami with the Brazilian national team, is resigned to staying at the Parc des Princes for one more season, but the 27-year-old remains determined to return to Barcelona and the Catalan club are expected to make him their top target for next summer.

AFP/Getty Images

In that respect, the saga is reminiscent of the situation with Antoine Griezmann, with the French forward having signed for Barca this summer after changing his mind about a move to Camp Nou last year and staying for one more season at Atletico Madrid.

In Pictures | Barcelona unveil Antoine Griezmann | 15/07/2019

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Barca were also made to wait by Cesc Fabregas in another drawn-out transfer saga with Arsenal and something similar now looks likely to lie ahead with Neymar.

In the meantime, the Brazilian forward will be back in Spain in late November as PSG face Real Madrid in the Champions League group stages at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the two teams to meet before that at the Parc des Princes in the first round of matches on September 17.

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