Neymar will wear the number 10 jersey at PSG. (Source: Reuters)
Neymar completed his blockbuster transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain on Thursday evening in a deal that shattered the record for the previous most expensive signing by more than a double when Manchester United splashed the cash for Paul Pogba. With the 222 million Euros, that PSG paid as part of Neymar’s release clause, he has now become the most expensive player in the world. At the Parisian club, the Brazilian star would earn $350 million in salary and bonus before-tax.
Many have speculated and called out the midfielder for the move by questioning the intent of the move even though Neymar said in a statement that he was going for newer challenges. “What I say to these people is they don’t know anything about my personal life, I was never motivated by money. What I think about is my happiness and together with my family, I want them to be happy. If I was following the money, I would be somewhere else, with other clubs in other countries. I’m really sad that people still think that way and I’m glad that PSG believe in me,” he said on Friday after being presented as a PSG player at Parc des Princes.
“This is for ambition, they have a similar ambition to mine. I want something bigger, a bigger challenge and my heart made that decision and made me follow. That is why I am here. I want to give my best to help the club win trophies. I wanted to come to Paris and it was only linked to finding a new challenge. It is not because I was not THE star at Barcelona, I fitted in very well there. This is not what I am looking for here. PSG deserve trophies and I will have new trophies, this is what motivates me, I want to dream bigger,” he added.
PSG chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi who sat alongside Neymar at the presentation echoed the thought. He added that the biggest transfer now may be worth the money ‘in two or three years’. “Today is expensive but in two or three years? I do not think it is expensive, we will definitely make more money. This is the power of PSG. It is an amazing transfer. We will be very transparent with Financial Fair Play, I have a strong team with me. If you are thinking about it, go have a coffee and don’t worry about it,” he said.
There were reports that Neymar’s decision to move away from Barcelona came when he saw Lionel Messi, his striking partner at Barcelona, take the limelight following a miraculous comeback against PSG in the UEFA Champions League last season. That draw comparisons whether Neymar wanted to step out of Messi’s shadow. However, Neymar denied such claims and said his reason to join Barcelona was to play alongside the Argentine. “No, quite on the contrary. One of my motivations to play for Barcelona was to play alongside Lionel Messi, he was my role model. There was no pressure at all there, only during the first week at Barcelona where I was nervous to train with my role models.”
Neymar was presented at the Parc des Princes on Friday. (Source: Reuters)
“But after that first week, I was relaxed and to play with the best is very easy because every player wants to play with the best in the world to win titles together. I want to thank Messi because he welcomed me so well and I learned so much from him in our four years together. But now I’m here at PSG and I want to help my team-mate in the best way and win titles,” he said. Messi posted an emotional farewell video after Neymar bid the players goodbye at the club’s Sporting City in Barcelona.
Neymar signed for PSG until 2022 in a five-year deal and PSG chairman Al Khelaifi confirmed that the Brazilian has a release clause in his contract with the French club. The transfer has been embroiled in controversy on most part with Spanish La Liga threatening to file complaint against PSG over the transfer and the possible abuse of the financial fair play (FFP) rules. Neymar had officially notified Barcelona of his intent to leave the Catalans on Wednesday and the move was completed in just over a day.
PSG chief Al Khalifi said the club will comply with UEFA on following the FFP regulations. “”There is only one decision that matters and that is with UEFA. We are working very transparently with UEFA. We don’t care about speculation in the media. We care that what we are doing is transparent and completely legal,” he stated.
