Barcelona are understood to have submitted a higher offer for Paris Saint-Germain winger Neymar which includes ‘more money and more players’.
Neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid can afford to meet PSG’s €222m asking price, so a player-plus-cash deal appears to be the only solution. However, with so many parties involved in the deal, talks have proven to be incredibly complicated.
The latest update in this lengthy saga comes from Telefoot, who state that Barcelona have increased their bid for the winger. There is thought to be a substantial fee involved, whilst French international Ousmane Dembele has also been offered to PSG on loan.
La Blaugrana are thought to be eager to loan out Dembele to ensure his development does not stall if Neymar returns to Camp Nou, whilst PSG have previously expressed an interest in signing him permanently. However, whether they would accept a loan deal is a completely different story.
Lionel Messi has demanded that club officials do whatever it takes to sign Neymar, and it appears as though almost every player could be available to swap.
With Barcelona ready to offer more players, they may have stolen the lead in the race for Neymar’s signature. La Liga rivals Real have struggled to make progress – largely due to disagreements between president Florentino Perez and manager Zinedine Zidane.
Perez is desperate to sign Neymar, but Zidane does not share his feelings. Whilst the president will likely have the final say, Perez is eager to avoid upsetting his manager too much.
The pair have struggled to agree upon which players could leave the club as part of the Neymar deal. A transfer is said to have been agreed which would have seen James Rodriguez head to Paris, only for Los Blancos to decide to keep him at the last minute.
Raphael Varane and Isco have both been suggested, but neither appears available, so PSG have turned their attention to Keylor Navas. Real are happy to part ways with the goalkeeper, but they would need to offer more money as part of the deal, which is easier said than done.
With everything getting so complicated, Telefoot add that Neymar is open to remaining in Paris for at least another season if a deal does not go through before the deadline. The relationship between the winger and director Leonardo is thought to have improved, so remaining in France is not as unimaginable as it once was.
The next move in this saga will be decided once PSG respond to Barcelona’s offer. It all comes down to whether PSG would be happy with their proposal, but the idea of only getting Dembele on loan might not be too appealing to the Ligue 1 side, who would prefer a permanent replacement.
