Tuchel: "I don't know what Neymar will do next summer"
The Paris Saint-Germain boss discussed the Brazil forward during a press conference on Friday and admitted he is unsure if he will be at the Parc des Princes next season.
Thomas Tuchel has admitted he has no information on Neymar’s intentions beyond the end of the current season amid rumours that the Paris Saint-Germain star may be eyeing a move away from Ligue 1.
“Will he stay? All I know is that he is here in October but I can’t talk about what Neymar will do in the summer of 2019,” the PSG manager told a press conference on Friday. “He is our player and he is under contract.”
Neymar has been linked in recent days with a surprise return to Barcelona – a move that the Camp Nou’s vice-president, Jordi Cardoner, has denied – or a switch to the Bernabéu, where he has been coveted for some time.
Neymar’s contract at PSG runs until June 2022 and according to Spanish radio network Cadena Ser contains a release clause of 220 million euros, two less than the Ligue 1 giants shelled out to bring the Brazil captain to the Parc des Princes in 2017.
Mbappé has stolen Neymar's limelight at PSG
Neymar’s move to PSG has been a mixed experience, with the Brazilian starting out in fine form but then suffering a fractured metatarsal and missing the biggest game of last season for the Parisians, against Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16.
The injury also affected his performances at the World Cup as Brazil bowed out at the quarter-final stage to Belgium. PSG remain dominant in Ligue 1, winning their opening nine games this season, but are third in their Champions League group going into a double header against Napoli as the club aim to launch a genuine challenge in Europe this season.
The emergence of Kylian Mbappé as a global superstar at the World Cup has also taken a little of the gloss off Neymar’s presence at PSG, alerting Real Madrid to the possibility of signing of a player with a similar profile to Cristiano Ronaldo following the Portuguese’s departure for Juventus.
