Barcelona 'Asked' Neymar Not to Go on Pre-Season Tour as They Wait for PSG to Make Star Available
Barcelona remain heavily linked with a deal to re-sign former star Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, but the saga continues to become increasingly complicated and the latest gossip suggests the Catalans will only move if PSG actively make the Brazilian available.
It has been fairly well established in recent weeks that Neymar wishes to leave PSG, the club he joined for a world record €222m fee in 2017, and return to Barcelona.
But the feasibility of such a deal actually happening, especially with his former club also spending €120m on Antoine Griezmann and so far failing to offload Philippe Coutinho and others to raise funds and create space, is more and more questionable.
SPORT has claimed there is 'new contact' between Barça and PSG, with Camp Nou president Josep Maria Bartomeu said to have asked Parc des Princes counterpart Nasser al Khelaifi to be the first to know if the French champions decide to sell Neymar.
PSG have apparently insisted that they will not negotiate, even though SPORT claims 'things are moving discreetly forward'.
An independent report from ESPN Desportes in Brazil carries similar information about Bartomeu asking for Barça to be kept informed of any developments. The story suggests that they are waiting for PSG to make the first move and open the negotiations.
ESPN also notes that Barça would prefer not to pay any cash to land the Brazilian, instead wishing to include the like of Coutinho in a deal to minimise the cost. Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic has also been mentioned as a potential makeweight in past reports.
But there could also be a problem with Barça's plan because if PSG do crack and let it be known that Neymar is for sale, there is a concern that rivals like Real Madrid or Juventus could get involved if the market is opened up.
After missing the start of pre-season training and a dispute over his whereabouts, Neymar is currently with the PSG squad in China for summer tour duties. French website Soccer Link has alleged that Barça didn't want him to go, suggesting it would have made a deal both more straightforward and cheaper if he had simply refused to take part.
Whether true or not, it is claimed Barça 'repeatedly asked' the 27-year-old not to go. It is even said that he gave it serious consideration before reporting for duty to avoid further problems.
On top of that, Soccer Link says that PSG and international teammates Thiago Silva and Marquinhos are in 'daily' contact with Neymar in a bid to persuade him to stay. The Brazilian defenders have been granted extra time off following their participation at the Copa America.
Elsewhere, SPORT picked up that Neymar was not involved in the official launch of PSG's new away kit in China, with Kylian Mbappe and Marco Verratti the premier names. It was only later that he was included during a special PSG catwalk show organised by a club sponsor.