Barcelona Transfer News: Catalan giants offer sensational swap deal for Neymar, not cash
What's the story?
According to Christian Falk from German media outlet Bild, Barcelona have not offered cash for Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar Jr. Instead, the Catalan giants are willing to exchange three key players as part of a swap deal to bring the Brazilian forward back to the Camp Nou.
In case you didn't know...
Having spent four successful seasons at the Camp Nou, Neymar completed his big-money move to the French capital for a massive fee of €222 million in 2017.
The 27-year-old has helped the Parisiens to two consecutive Ligue 1 titles. However, he has failed to deliver on the European front as the Ligue 1 giants still await their maiden Champions League title despite spending a mammoth sum on transfers in the past decade.
Last season, the former Barca star racked up 23 goals and 13 assists in the 28 appearances he made across all competitions. However, for the second consecutive season, the left-winger suffered a long-term injury towards the business end of the 2018-19 campaign.
The heart of the matter...
If the report is to be believed, the Catalans have offered PSG a swap deal for Neymar in exchange for any three players from the quartet of Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Samuel Umtiti, and Nelson Semedo.
According to reports, the Blaugrana are on the verge of signing Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, as they are prepared to pay his €120M release clause. Not to mention, they'd need another €250-300 million to secure the signing of the Brazilian forward. Hence, the Catalans are willing to part ways with three key players to make Neymar's Camp Nou return possible.
Coutinho has failed to adapt in Ernesto Valverde's system and hasn't been able to live up to the expectations at the Camp Nou. As a result, the Barcelona hierarchy would be willing to part ways with the former Liverpool star.
On the other hand, Samuel Umtiti has been replaced by compatriot Clement Lenglet in Valverde's line-up. Portuguese full-back Nelson Semedo and Ousmane Dembele are the other two players who have been offered to PSG.
What's next?
Neymar has missed PSG's pre-season training amidst transfer speculations linking him with a Camp Nou return, and it remains to be seen where will Neymar play his football next season.