It’s shocking how desperate Neymar is to reunite with Messi at Barcelona as he has reportedly turned down a contract renewal offer from his current club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) that included a bonus of $107 million and that shows the desperation of the player to move out of France.
Neymar had inevitably forged a really deep bond with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as a part of Barcelona’s indivisible front triumvirate before his association infamously ended with Barcelona in the middle of the 2017’s pre-season.
Neymar, who had clearly been aware that he would always be eclipsed by Messi’s shadow at Nou Camp, agreed to hightail it to PSG, who triggered his buyout clause of $239m to make him the most expensive soccer player in the world.
But all it took was just one season before the move backfired for the Brazilian, who ever since then has been desperate to return to Barcelona for whatever real reasons known only to the Brazilian.
The celebrated Neymar has after all clinched three back-to-back Ligue 1 titles with PSG since his maiden season in 2017-18. Adding to those dazzling triumphs, he has also helped PSG win the French League Cup, Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions. An enviable largesse considering the injuries he’s sustained that sidelined him for considerable periods during his stint at PSG.
Ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window, Neymar has continuously been heavily linked with a move back to Barcelona, while PSG continue to remove all stops in their best efforts to try to retain their current best player. The club recently offered Neymar, who is currently contracted at PSG until the end of 2022, a ludicrously lucrative contract extension.
The Brazil playmaker, who earned the disdain and ire of fans and pundits for choosing PSG’s big money over his loyalty for Barcelona in 2017, has turned down the offer and in the process, he has also rejected an additional bonus of worth $107m, as reported by the Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo.
In so doing, the report further stated that Neymar is also ready to sacrifice a commercial deal with Qatar National Bank, which is worth as much as $53m annually.
It is evident Barcelona want to sign Neymar as much as the player wants to relocate to Spain. Barcelona captain Messi has reiterated on numerous occasions he wants Neymar back to Nou Camp, a move supported by even the likes of Gerard Pique and Suarez who have made it clear that the Brazilian will be welcomed at Barca with open hands.
Considering Neymar is not ready to renew his contract in Paris and Barcelona is understood to be not in a state to afford his transfer fee this summer window, the player could well walk-off from PSG as a free agent at the end of the 2021-22 season.