Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar is ready to decline a move to Real Madrid in favour of a switch to Barcelona next summer. According to recent reports, the Brazilian is unsettled in Paris and is looking for an escape route out of French football despite signing for PSG last summer. It is believed that Neymar is surprised by the poor quality of Ligue 1 and has come to the realisation that he was stubborn in wanting to come out of Lionel Messi’s shadow at Barcelona last year.
Real Madrid has been linked with a move for the Brazilian’s signature and Los Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane recently addressed the speculation and was quoted to have said, ‘€400m for Neymar? When Madrid bought me for €72m, it seemed crazy,’
‘Maybe a player will be worth that in 10 years or so, but he’d fit into any team in the world.’
However, despite Zidane’s comments, it is expected that Neymar would prefer a switch to the Nou Camp rather than what would a controversial switch to their bitter rivals. Some sources have suggested that the 26-year-old has already informed his former club about his desire ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League second-leg showdown with PSG last week. It is understood that he misses his former colleagues and wishes to be reunited with them in the near future.
Barcelona are currently leading the La Liga table with a tally of 72 points in 28 matches. They are 11 points above second-placed Atletico Madrid with just 10 matches to go in this campaign. Ernesto Valverde’s side are the top scorers in the league and has found the back of the net 72 times during the course of this season. The Catalans have the likes of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Phillipe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Paco Alcacer all vying for a place in the starting eleven.
The addition of Neymar will definitely add more competition for places in Ernesto Valverde’s squad ahead of the new campaign as they try to maintain their dominance both domestically and in Europe. The Brazilian has scored 29 goals and provided 19 assists in 30 appearances for PSG this season. He already knows what it takes to play for a top club like Barcelona and has a terrific goal-scoring record at the Nou Camp.
Neymar has scored 105 goals and created 80 assists in 186 matches for the Catalans during the course of his career. It remains to be seen whether Barcelona are able to convince PSG to part ways with their prized asset just one year after his switch to Paris.
