It has been a turbulent 36 hours in Neymar’s transfer saga. Finally, it is over. Neymar is now officially a member of Paris Saint-Germain after they activated his release clause of €222 million, which Barcelona accepted.
Earlier in the day, Juan de Dios Crespo, Neymar’s lawyer, was ready to pay the release clause, but La Liga had turned down the payment. For a couple of hours, it struck confusion in the footballing community. The actions by La Liga at the headquarters in Madrid forced Neymar’s team to travel to Barcelona to give the cheque directly to the club.
Hours later, a statement was made by Barcelona officially ending all the speculation.
“On Thursday afternoon Neymar Jr’s legal representatives visited in person the Club’s offices and made the payment of 222 million euros in the player’s name with regards to the unilateral termination of the contract that united both parties.”
Barcelona also added, “as such, the Club will pass on to UEFA the details of the above operation so that they can determine the disciplinary responsibilities that may arise from this case.”
PSG have their new face that just changed the football landscape, but the transfer sage—news—will not go away. La Liga President, Javier Tebas, said they will take any action necessary and will try to put pressure on UEFA to look into the fairness of the transfer. Unless something is said or done by UEFA regarding the transfer, PSG is in the clear.
Neymar joined Barcelona from Santos in 2013. During his four years at the club, he helped Barca win a one Champions League, two La Liga titles, three Copas del Rey, and one Spanish Super Cup. In 186 appearances, Neymar scored 105 goals. Neymar was also a key contributor to Barcelona’s historic treble in 2014-15.
During those four years, Neymar had always been second to Messi. He grew tired of Lionel Messi’s shadow and wanted to come out. As of today, he is in and the spotlight at PSG.
The Parisian club begins their conquest of Europe as Barcelona scrambles to replace Neymar with four weeks left in the transfer window. What a summer it has been.