PSG prepare €200m to sign Neymar

French champions Paris Saint-Germain are ready to renew their efforts to sign Barcelona star Neymar, and are planning a bumper package worth up to €200 million in order to land their man.


After a long, fruitless quest to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to Paris, leaders of the French club turned their eyes on Neymar last summer. Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Olivier Letang rolled out the red carpet to try to sign the Brazilian this season, offering an astronomical salary (matching Messi's Barcelona deal) as well as several hefty financial clauses to entice the striker.

PSG are sparing no expense in trying to bring Neymar to the French capital, and the Parisian sporting director keeps in regular contact with the Brazilian's inner circle.

The operation was close to being completed this summer, according to sources close to the player, as he was tempted to join up with friends Marquinhos, Lucas Moura and Thiago Silva in Ligue 1. The attacker eventually declined to continue talks in favour of signing a new deal with Barcelona at the beginning of July, for a salary estimated at €25 million per year until 2021.

Barcelona, meanwhile, remain firm on the subject. "The deal was agreed in January, only administrative snags stopped us from signing before," a source in the Spanish city explains. Agent Wagner Ribeiro and Neymar Sr. without a doubt used PSG's interest to push up Barca's offer, but ultimately the player turned down a massive contract offer - worth €40m - to stay at Camp Nou. His salary, however, remains some way behind the €42m that Messi receives annually, even with the revisions made in the face of the French club's advances.