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| NEYMAR JNR | | |
Neymar has finally completed his world-record £198m
transfer to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in a deal
the French side say 'emphasises more than ever the club's aims to rise to the
top of world football.'
After weeks of intense speculation
regarding the move, the 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract worth
£500,000 a week and is in line to make his debut on Saturday at home to Amiens
in Ligue 1. He will wear the No 10 shirt, as revealed by Dugout.
Neymar, who will be officially unveiled at 1.30pm French
time on Friday at a press conference, said: 'Since I arrived in Europe, the
club has always been one of the most competitive and most ambitious.
NEYMAR'S CAREER
2009-2013: Santos - 225
appearances and 136 goals
2013-2017: Barcelona -
186 appearances and 105 goals
2017-present: Paris Saint-Germain - 0 appearances
and 0 goals so far...
For his country Brazil, Neymar has scored 52 goals in 77
appearances
'And
the biggest challenge, what most motivated me to join my new team-mates is to
help the club to conquer the titles that their fans want.
'Paris Saint-Germain's ambition
attracted me to the club, along with the passion and the energy this
brings.
'I played four seasons in Europe and
I feel ready to take the challenge. From today, I will do everything I can to
help my new team-mates, to open up new horizons for my club and to bring
happiness to its millions of supporters around the world.'
Neymar had to buy himself out
of his contract with Barcelona in order to complete his move to
France following a battle between the French and Spanish leagues over the
payment of his world-record fee.
The head of Spain’s La Liga, Javier
Tebas, did his best to sabotage the transfer by rejecting attempts by the
Brazilian to pay his buy-out fee at the league offices on Thursday morning.
With the French season starting on
Friday and Neymar desperate to make his PSG debut against Amiens, the Spanish
League — still reeling from losing a poster-boy player — appeared to have
succeeded in bringing the deal to a temporary halt.
But the sports lawyer representing
Neymar, Juan de Dios Crespo, later deposited the cheque directly with Barcelona
to free the player to be presented as PSG’s new signing.
Tebas believes the French side
are breaking financial fair play regulations with the world record transfer and
has also pointed the finger at Qatar’s government, who he claims are
bankrolling the club with financial injections tantamount to illegal state
aid.
HISTORY OF WORLD'S BIGGEST TRANSFERS
Neymar's move to PSG is easily the
biggest transfer ever to occur in the history of football. Here are all the
times since the turn of the century that the record has been broken...
August 9, 2016 - Paul Pogba (Juventus
to Manchester United, £89m)
September 1, 2013 - Gareth
Bale (Tottenham to Real Madrid, £85m)
July 6, 2009 - Cristiano
Ronaldo (Manchester United to Real Madrid, £80m)
June 9, 2009 - Kaka (AC Milan
to Real Madrid, £56m)
July 10, 2001 - Zinedine Zidane
(Juventus to Real Madrid, £45m)
July 24, 2000 - Luis Figo
(Barcelona to Real Madrid, £37m)
July 13, 2000 - Hernan Crespo
(Parma to Lazio, £36m)
'It
is with immense joy and pride that we welcome Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain,'
he said.
'His winning mentality, strength of
character and sense of leadership have made him into a great player.
'He will bring a very positive
energy to this club. In six years, we have built a very ambitious project that
has already taken us to the highest level of national and European
football.
'Today, with the arrival of Neymar,
I am convinced that we will come even closer, with the support of our faithful
fans, to realising our greatest dreams.'
For Barcelona, Neymar's exit delivers
a significant blow so close to the start of the La Liga season on August 20.
His exit dismantles their formidable three-pronged attack, affectionately known
as 'MSN', which comprised of the Brazilian, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Barcelona have been strongly linked
with a move for Liverpool attacker Philippe Coutinho as Ernesto Valverde looks
to reshape his side ahead of his first season as the Nou Camp manager.
They are also interested in Ousmane
Dembele of Borussia Dortmund and Sportsmail understands
an alternative to Dembele, who is valued at £90m, could be the significantly
cheaper Angel di Maria.
The Argentine, currently at PSG,
would arrive as a stopgap until in a year’s time they could target Atletico
Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, whose buy-out clause will have returned from £200m
— this summer’s price while the club are banned from registering new players —
to £100m.
The Di Maria option, however, would
require a major thawing of relations between the two clubs.
Barcelona stars Gerard Pique and
Javier Mascherano had made public and private pleas for Neymar to stay in
Spain, but their efforts failed.
Neymar joined Barcelona in 2013 from
boyhood club Santos. In Spain, he won two La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey trophies
and the Champions League, as well as the Club World Cup and Spanish Super Cup.
At PSG, he will be tasked with
spearheading their bid to reclaim the French league title after Unai Emery's
side finished second to Monaco last season. It ended a four-year streak of PSG
winning Ligue 1.
But domestic success will be only
part of what PSG are aiming to achieve with Neymar in their ranks.
Since they were bought by Qatar
Sports Investments in 2012, the furthest the club have gone in the Champions
League is the quarter-final stage.
Last season, PSG thrashed Barcelona
4-0 in the second round first-leg, before Neymar inspired his side to an
astonishing 6-1 victory in the return fixture at the Nou Camp, where the
Spanish club scored three times in the final three minutes of the match.
Shortly after his PSG transfer was
announced, Neymar uploaded an emotional post on Instagram to reflect on his
four years at Barcelona.
He paid tribute to a number of
team-mates and revealed he went against the advice of his father in moving to
France.
His post read: 'The life of an
athlete is made by challenges. Some are given to us, others are fruits of our
own decisions to keep the light that illuminates our career, which is intense,
but short.
'Barcelona was much more than a
challenge, it was the dream of a child, who played with those stars through the
video game. I arrived in Catalonia when I was 21, filled with challenges.
'I can still remember my first days
in the Club, sharing the changing room with idols like Messi, Valdes, Xavi, Iniesta,
Puyol, Pique, Busquets and many others. Waiting my turn to play in a club
that's 'more than a club'. Barcelona is a nation that represents Catalonia!
'I had the honour of playing with
the best athlete I have ever seen in my life and I am sure I will never see
another one like him while I'm alive. Leo Messi became my friend in and out of
the pitch. It was an honour to play with you.
'I made a trio with Messi and Suarez
that made history, conquered everything an athlete can conquer, lived
unforgettable moments, lived in a city that is more than a city, it is a
homeland. I love Barcelona and Catalonia.
'But an athlete (me) needs
challenges. And for the second time in my life I will contradict my father.
'Papa, I understand and respect your
opinion, but my decision is made and I ask you to support me as you always do.
'So, go with God and be happy, ok
son. But run! Kiss, I'm running up here with you.'
'Barcelona and Catalonia will always
be in my heart but I need new challenges.
'I have accepted the proposal of PSG
to try new achievements and help the Club to win the titles that their crowd
wants. They showed me a daring career plan and I feel ready to take on this
challenge.
'I thank the wonderful Blaugrana
crowd and all that I have learned from the athletes with whom I had the chance
to share the dressing room.
'Now I feel in my heart that it's
time to leave. PSG will be my home for the next years and I will work hard to
honour all of the trust placed in my football.
'I'm counting on the support of all
of you who have been with me since 2009. Fans, friends, professionals who are
with me and my family, who suffered a lot with some problems that took place
during that period in my career. Today you deserve peace.
'It's a very hard decision, but I
made it with the maturity I accumulated throughout those 25 years.
'Barcelona, thank you for
everything. PSG, I am coming!! May God bless and protect us!'
Neymar has picked the same No 10
shirt as former PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Brazilian icon Ronaldinho,
who spent his first years in Europe in Paris.
Brazil legend Pele was quick to
congratulate his compatriot on the transfer, posting a comment on Twitter
alongside a picture of himself holding the World Cup in front of the Eiffel
Tower.
'Congratulations Neymar, good luck
in your new challenge. Paris is a beautiful city, one of my favourite (sic) in
the world!'
