NEYMAR has rejected a new Paris Saint-Germain deal and is willing to halve his £600,000-a-week wages to force through a return to Barcelona, reports claim.
The Brazilian superstar is currently the world’s third highest-paid player on £87million but would be willing to forego loads of cash to get back to the Nou Camp.
Mundo Deportivo say Neymar is willing to take a 50 per cent pay cut to return to Barcelona
That is according to Mundo Deportivo, whose front page today carries the report.
They say Neymar “curses” his decision to join the Ligue 1 champions for a world-record £198million in 2017.
And he is said to be desperate to link up once more with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez under the guidance of boss Quique Setien.
Previous reports claimed Barcelona could only offer Neymar – who has been learning piano while in lockdown – a deal that would equate to taking a £26m pay cut.
Barcelona have recently confirmed they intend to do only swap deals this summer, as a result of the financial crisis imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
They did look at buying Neymar back before Covid-19 but were unwilling to meet the £176m asking price.
It is claimed PSG – who are rumoured to have just offered Kylian Mbappe a new deal on wages of around £600,000-a-week – could lower their asking price to £132m in the coming weeks.
However that still seems a nigh-on impossible amount of money to ask for given the current climate.
And in any case, Mundo add that Neymar is determined not to stay in France past June 2022 – when his contract ends.
Recent reports claimed Neymar was looking at exploiting a Fifa loophole to land a move back to Spain.
Barca have also been heavily linked with a move for Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez.
But he has a £97.5m release clause, so Setien will have to prioritise the signing of one over the other.
Neymar shows off piano playing skills on lockdown at £7m pad
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
