Neymar will stay another season in France as the Brazilian's former agent made claims that the reported transfer to Barcelona in the summer is unlikely to push through. According to Wagner Ribeiro, he could not see a deal between Camp Nou and the Paris Saint-Germain star being finalized in the next transfer window, and for a host of reasons.
For one, Ribeiro pointed to a market condition that saw a drastic change due to the coronavirus pandemic. The agent said transfer transactions between football clubs will not be the same as before, and the likelihood is Barca and PSG will be unable to finalize an agreement on Neymar, who has been long-rumored to make his way back to the Catalan giants.
Because of the new market dynamics, the PSG striker will stick with his current club, Goal reported, citing the news item published by Fox Sports Brazil.
"I think Neymar will stay at PSG because the market is different. The economic world of football will change," Ribeiro was reported as saying.
Neymar signed up with the Parisians in 2017 but after completing a record transfer worth £199 million, he appeared to have a change of heart and started working on reuniting with Barcelona. So far, the attempts made in the past have failed, the last of which was the summer of 2019, and per Ribeiro, it will be the same this year.
The agent dropped hints that negotiations between PSG and Barca had been problematic in the past years, and the COVID-19 pandemic this year only led to further complications. It's safe to assume now that Neymar playing alongside Lionel Messi next season is not yet happening, said Ribeiro.
Another thing that could prevent Neymar's return to Barcelona is the bid coming from Real Madrid, which tried to recruit the Brazilian in 2013, and only to see him joining up with their El Clasico rival.
According to Ribeiro, described in a Barca Blaugranes report as a representative of the South American in specific business dealings, the Los Blancos have reached out to the Neymar camp in 2019 to explore the possibility of the coming to Madrid the soonest.
Ribeiro revealed that acting for Neymar, he had started discussing matters with the Real hierarchy and it was clearly established that the Spanish giants are determined to lure the Brazilian from Parc des Princes. The club intends to make Neymar a Galactico, the agent said.
"I have been to Madrid several times because the objective of Florentino Perez was to recruit Neymar ... I was with him in his office. He told me that he had this dream of signing Neymar," Ribeiro was reported as saying.
While it appeared that Barcelona and Real Madrid are racing to win the signature of the PSG star, Neymar is unable to walk away from the French club until 2022, meaning any interested clubs will need to pay a hefty price to acquire him.
