Barcelona Head For France In Last Bid To Sign Embattled PSG Star Neymar

Board Members of FC Barcelona have travelled to Paris in a bid to try and settle a deal to bring Neymar back to the Nou Camp.

Club president Josep Bartomeu and sporting director Eric Abidal both made the journey to Paris Saint-Germain’s headquarters on Tuesday.

The La Liga giants want to bring the Brazilian star back to Barcelona and are preparing a final bid for him.

Barcelona have already made an offer to PSG to get Neymar on loan with a £155million offer to buy next summer.

PSG have dismissed that offer and are now wanting a deal that includes €100m and Ousmane Dembele and Nelson Semedo.

The French champions believe that would be satisfactory but Barcelona are unlikely to want to part with two first-team players.

PSG are reluctant to sell Neymar given they would only have until Monday’s continental deadline to replace him before waiting until January to trade again.

Qatar Sports Investments, PSG’s owners, would see the sale of Neymar as a major blow and a major political defeat two years after bringing him to Paris.

Neymar was supposed to be PSG’s final piece in the Champions League-winning puzzle.

There is also further concern with Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe currently unavailable due to injury.  

There is a clear motivation from Barcelona’s side to sign the 27-year-old not least because he and Lionel Messi are close friends. There is also a frustration among Barcelona’s players that a deal for Neymar hasn’t been concluded sooner.

Having Neymar in a side that already boasts attacking stars such as Messi, Luis Suarez, and Antoine Griezmann would also strengthen Barcelona’s chances in this year’s Champions League.

Bartomeu has two years remaining as club president and desperately wants to end his reign by adding another Champions League crown to the one won under his watch in 2015 – the last time Barcelona ruled Europe.   

Reports in Spain on Tuesday also suggest that Real Madrid are monitoring the situation closely but don’t want to get drawn into a transfer battle with Barcelona.

Sport reports that Real could be preparing a ‘super offer’ for Neymar while AS have the player pictured on a pile of cash to illustrate both Spanish clubs’ pursuit of him.