PSG ready to let go of Neymar Jr. as new era beckons under Luis Campos - Reports
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are willing to offload Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr. in the near future, according to a report from Foot Mercato. The Parisian outfit have entered a new era under the Qatari ownership following the sacking of sporting director Leonardo.
PSG have appointed former LOSC Lille and AS Monaco sporting director Luis Campos as their football advisor ahead of the 2022-23 season. Campos will be tasked with taking care of all footballing decisions at the club.
According to the aforementioned source, one such decision that the club are willing to take is to offload Neymar Jr. from their payroll.
The 30-year-old Brazilian forward joined the Ligue 1 giants from FC Barcelona back in the summer of 2017 for a world-record fee of €222 million. However, he has failed to live up to expectations at the Parc des Princes.
According to Foot Mercato, Neymar's current club have already decided on a price for the Brazilian. The decision for the reported sale has been made in full agreement between the Qatari owners and Campos.
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However, there are a couple of reasons why it could be difficult for PSG to offload Neymar. The winger has a contract at the club until the summer of 2025. According to recent reports, the former Barcelona star has also refused to leave the club in the summer transfer window.
Secondly, he is currently earning close to €30 million per year. Only a handful of clubs across Europe can afford such astronomical wages for a single footballer.
PSG president Nasser al Khelaifi sat on the fence when asked about Neymar Jr.'s future at the club. He was quoted as saying the following (via MARCA):
"We can't talk about these issues in the media, some will come and others will leave, but they are private negotiations."
Neymar Jr. will want a great start to the 2022-23 season for PSG
Neymar Jr. endured yet another injury-riddled campaign during the 2021-22 season. The 30-year-old forward only managed to play 28 games for the Parisian giants across all competitions. However, he did manage to score 13 goals and provided eight assists as well.
Neymar needs to have a much better 2022-23 season for PSG. The forward will look to prove his worth in a squad that already contains Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
With Mbappe penning a new deal and Messi only having one year left on his contract, the 30-year-old's sale would benefit the PSG board the most. He will therefore need to step up his game next season to prove his doubters wrong.
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Neymar will also want to start the 2022-23 season in bright form to carry that into the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. As is often the case, the forward will be Brazil's primary hope of bringing them their sixth World Cup title and first since 2002.