3 Reasons why Barcelona should not re-sign Neymar
With just over six weeks left in the ongoing transfer window, Barcelona find themselves in the unfamiliar position of having not completed most of their transfer dealings.
This goes in contrast with the situation at LaLiga rivals Real Madrid and Atletico, who have finalized deals for the majority of their transfer targets and are almost good to go ahead of next season.
The Catalans have been linked with a number of players including Antoine Griezmann, Neymar and Matthijs de Ligt. But rather frustratingly for their fans, nothing tangible has come out of said speculations, with Frenkie de Jong and goalkeeper Neto being the only senior arrivals so far.
One name which has gained more traction than others in recent weeks as a potential arrival at Nou Camp is that of Neymar, as the Brazilian international stoked the embers of speculation with his claim that he wants to return ‘home’ to Catalunya.
Also see : Barcelona Transfer News, Arsenal Transfer News, Manchester united Transfer News.
Senior players at the club have explicitly given their approval for the transfer and Barcelona are reportedly in talks to push through the move.
While there are a number of plausible reasons why Barcelona should go all out for Neymar, it might be in their best interest to refrain from signing their former star. In this piece, we shall be highlighting four reasons why Barcelona should not re-sign Neymar.
#3 The high financial costs involved
When Neymar signed a contract extension with Barcelona in October 2016, one of the clauses in the deal contained a release clause for the whopping sum of €222m.
The Catalans must have put that figure in the hopes that it would dissuade would-be buyers from enquiring about Neymar, but less than a year later later, PSG activated the release clause, making the Brazilian international the most expensive player of all time.
If they are to sell him, it is safe to say that the Ligue 1 champions would be keen to recoup every penny they expended on their prized asset and indications have emerged that they have set a transfer value of €225m on Neymar.
Barcelona are reportedly unwilling to match that figure but any transfer involving Neymar would ostensibly be completed for sums in excess of €150 million.
This is an extremely huge amount to be expended, especially considering that the club are reportedly considering activating Antoine Griezmann's release clause for the sum of €120m.
Beyond his transfer fee, Neymar would also not come cheaply in terms of his remuneration, as the 27-year-old is currently paid the staggering sum of £650,000 every week at PSG.
This puts him almost on par with Messi as the highest paid player in the world and while he might have to take a pay cut to join the Blaugrana, a weekly pay of £300,000 or more could presumably be within reason for Neymar to earn if he arrives Barcelona which would significantly increase the club’s wage bill which is currently the highest in the world.
This means that any deal to bring Neymar over to Barcelona could potentially cost the Catalans in excess of 200m to cover both transfer fees and weekly wages and in light of the huge financial cost it would take to sign him, Barcelona would be best advised to refrain from proceeding with his purchase.