Neymar can reportedly pick and choose when he trains for Paris Saint-Germain, and what games he plays in, but he certainly won’t miss Wednesday’s match.
PSG travel to the Bernabeu to play Real Madrid in the stand-out tie from the last-16 of the Champions League. Neymar has the chance to show everyone why the Qatari club made him the most expensive footballer in history last summer, and possibly impress his potential future employers.
Like when the Brazilian was linked with a move from Barcelona to PSG long before the transfer happened, there appears to be some substance to the rumours that Madrid will attempt to sign the forward. Several reports have claimed that Neymar has yet to settle at PSG, that he has been surprised at the poor standard of the French league, and he would be open to joining Madrid.
Miguel Delaney, writing in The Independent, has a report ahead of Wednesday’s big Champions League tie in the Spanish capital, which claims that Real are very confident that they can land the 26-year-old.
According to the report:
- The word from the “top levels” of Real Madrid is that Neymar is “definitely” going to sign for the club in the summer, and they have stated this with “surprisingly striking confidence.” There is a “concrete” belief that they will land Neymar.
- But here are two significant obstacles to signing the player – PSG don’t want to sell him, and Madrid will need to raise an awful lot of money, as the club aren’t as cash-rich as it was in the past, and, unlike PSG or Manchester City, they aren’t owned by an oil-rich state.
- Real will need to sell players before they can make any big signings, and they will reportedly listen to offers for Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Keylor Navas and possibly Luka Modric. In addition to Neymar, they want a new goalkeeper – ideally either David de Gea or Thibaut Courtois. Madrid are said to be preparing for “one of their most sensational ever transfer windows.”
It remains to be seen if Madrid can sign Neymar. According to Spanish journalist Diego Torres, he is enjoying life in Paris, apart from the weather, but hasn’t settled at his new club. The report on his time at PSG so far is damning on Neymar’s professionalism, but suggests he has it so easy at his new club, he is unlikely to leave anytime soon.
According to Torres:
- Neymar “loves to provoke events that lead to transgression”, his recent 26th birthday celebrations lasted two days, and resulted in him missing a PSG match.
- He is detached from his teammates, even the Brazilian players and his old friend Dani Alves, choosing instead to spend his time with his large entourage.
- Neymar decides when he wants to train, and he “feels that he humbles himself if he makes the most of his physical possibilities. Especially, when he plays in France against opponents he considers very inferior.”
- Neymar said he joined PSG to become the best player in the world, and win the Ballon d’Or. However, according to Torres, the 26-year-old is “leading his life as if he were a teenager in perpetual summer vacation.”
Despite Madrid’s reported confidence about signing the player, Torres claims that Neymar’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro, reacted with “disbelief” when asked if the Brazilian will be playing for Madrid next season. Ribeiro reportedly said:
“No way! He already knows how big clubs are. Where will they allow him to live as he lives in Paris?”
