BARCELONA are planning to launch Operation Neymar this summer – with the explicit goal of bringing the Paris Saint-Germain star back to Spain.
But reports in Spain claim that to do so, football’s most expensive player ever will go to Fifa to break his contract with the Nou Camp club.
Barcelona are set to do everything they can to bring Neymar back to the Nou Camp this summer
World football’s governing body would, say Sport, “determine financial compensation for his current club” in the event of a transfer.
It is reported that the legal team that advise 28-year-old Neymar reckon this could be about £157m – £41m less than what the Ligue 1 side paid for him.
Sport say that Neymar did not pursue this avenue sooner because of rules on the transfer of players in a “protected period”.
They cite the Regulations on the Statute and Transfer of Players which say three years must pass before this option is available.
Neymar signed a world-record deal with PSG in August 2017, meaning only in August this year will the “protected period” end.
Sport add that if Neymar – who reportedly has a separate legal case ongoing AGAINST Barcelona – opts for the Fifa route, he must notify the club of his intentions within 15 days of his last commitment to PSG.
In a best case scenario this is May 30, when they could hypothetically be in the Champions League final in Istanbul.
The last day of Ligue 1 is scheduled for Saturday, May 23.
Sport say that if Barcelona and PSG transfer chiefs fail to reach an agreement over his move, then Neymar will go to Fifa.
They also say that, in theory, the player has to bear the cost of the compensation.
But Fifa say the club where the player ends up going can pay it instead.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
