There appears to be very little left that Barcelona can do to try to convince Neymar not to leave, and the club are already looking for alternatives to replace him.
President Josep Maria Bartomeu hinted that all wasn't well behind the scenes with the Brazilian on Thursday.
"Neymar
is still here, he's one of our best players and we do not want to lose
him," he said in an interview with the New York Times.
"But, you know, it's the players who decide if they want to leave. They can decide."
With
these words, Bartomeu not only made clear that Paris Saint-Germain are
in a position to pay the clause - an indispensable condition as
Barcelona don't want to negotiate - but also implied that the matter has
stopped being in the hands of the club.
Though they won't throw
in the towel and will to try to convince him with some signings that
reinforce the team while also encouraging a more pleasant climate for
the Brazilian, at this point Neymar is more inclined to work towards a
move to Paris than to stay.
Coutinho and Paulinho, footballers
with whom Ney maintains a great friendship, could seduce him, however,
these arrivals could be insufficient.
As Neymar himself confessed
to his teammates, negotiations with the PSG board are so far advanced
that he considers that it may be too late to stop his signing.
From there we can conclude that there is some pre-agreement in place, although this has been denied.
Barcelona
believe that the possible announcement about the player's future will
take place after he has fulfilled some commitments to in Asia, both
personal and for the Catalan club.
Once the tour ends, those commitments could well be Neymar's last services to the Barcelona cause before packing for Paris.
No comments:
Post a Comment