Neymar has “already said his goodbyes”

Reports in France claim that Neymar has already said his goodbyes at Barca.

Reports in France claim that Neymar has already said his goodbyes to his Barcelona team-mates ahead of a move to French giants PSG.

French publication ‘Le Parisien’ claims that the Brazilian forward has already bid adieu to a select few of his Barcelona team-mates.

News broke earlier this week that PSG were prepared to invoke the former Santos man’s €222m release clause and it is understood that PSG officials are still confident of doing a deal, despite Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu’s assertions that any such deal was ‘impossible’.

The report claims that the 25-year-old has confessed to his closest friends in the Barca dressing room that he wants to leave and that the club have given up hope of convincing him to stay.

This would explain why the Catalan giants have been linked with moves for both Paulo Dybala and Philippe Coutinho over the past 24 hours.

It is understood that Barca officials are concerned about Neymar’s playboy lifestyle and are therefore not as upset as they could have been regarding his potential exit. They fear a repeat of Ronaldinho, who eventually saw his career at the highest level cut short as a result of his lifestyle.

Critics are split over whether Coutinho would be seen as a replacement for Neymar or an attempted peace offering, with the Barca star having openly encouraged his team to buy the Liverpool playmaker in the past.

Either way, it promises to be an interesting few weeks at the Camp Nou.

Sporting Tribune