Report: Barcelona to Change Strategy in Pursuit of Neymar

FC Barcelona must have missed Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2016.

During that match, Neymar Jr. put his body on the line by scoring a diving header and after the final whistle, he was overcome with emotion and reduced to tears.

It was the first time Neymar was able to play in the second leg of a knockout stage match for PSG since he joined the club in 2017 and he took a huge step towards his goal, which is winning the Champions League in Paris.

Neymar definitely didn’t look like a playing itching for a return to the Camp Nou during those celebrations but according to Mundo Deportivo, he would still prefer a move back to Barcelona and the interest is mutual at the Catalan club.

The Spanish publication reports that Barcelona is no longer entertaining the possibility of using a FIFA clause called the ‘Regulations on the Statue and Transfer of Players‘ to sign Neymar.

Essentially, that clause would allow Neymar to terminate his contract with PSG because he is 28-years-old and has been with the club for three years. FIFA would then use a series of factors to come up with compensation owed to PSG, which could reach €180 million.

Given the unprecedented nature of the clause and the fact that lawyers could draw out the transfer for months, it’s unlikely Barcelona would want to go down this road. Plus, if they set the precedent of using the clause, other teams could use it against them.

With that in mind, the Mundo Deportivo article revealed that Barcelona are prepared to enter into negotiations with PSG over Neymar this summer and try to come up with a deal both sides can agree to.

Recently, ESPN‘s Julien Laurens (via Forbes) reported that PSG are willing to sell Neymar for €150 million this summer. That should make the negotiation process fairly painless, especially compared to last summer.

Barcelona will either have to come up with the funds, put together a package of players that PSG agrees to, or forget their dream of reuniting with Neymar.

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Tags Barcelona Neymar PSG Mercato
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