Barcelona and Real Madrid have reportedly both decided they will not be pursuing the transfer of Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
It perhaps now seems most likely that the Brazilian superstar will be staying with PSG, as Marca suggest both Barca and Real have decided they cannot afford him, with his former club no longer wanting transfer rumours fed to the press in case it gives their fans false hope over his return to the Nou Camp.
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The report explains that Neymar’s move back to Barcelona is not possible due to the club’s finances, and it seems Madrid are not considering a swoop for him either.
Neymar is one of the biggest names in world football and would clearly not come cheap, as he remains the most expensive signing in history after his move from Barcelona to PSG in 2017 for a world-record £200million, as reported at the time by BBC Sport.
It will be interesting to see if any other clubs perhaps feel they could enter the running for Neymar, but none are mentioned in Marca’s report.
The 28-year-old was a star performer in his first spell at Barcelona, but things haven’t really panned out as expected for him in his time in France so far.
One imagines, however, he could easily be an upgrade on the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele at Barcelona, but offloading them, and another flop Philippe Coutinho. to raise the money needed for Neymar, may be a big challenge in itself.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, could also with strengthening in attack, but also spent big last summer on bringing in Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic.