Neymar: Barcelona offer to PSG seen as 'very bad deal'
French news outlet L'Equipe's front cover made their feelings clear about a potential cash plus swap deal for the Brazilian, and in English.
The message on the front cover of Wednesday's L'Equipe was clear: the reported offer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar was a 'very bad deal'. One question raised, however, is if rejecting all advances for the 27-year old is a sensible approach.
Barça offer Coutinho plus plus
As we shared on Tuesday, the Catalan club had push back on a player-plus-cash deal to return the Brazilian to the Camp Nou. The French outlet referred to this option of 40 million euros in addition to two players (although rather than Coutinho and Dembélé in the swap, they quoted Coutinho and Rakitic) but stated that neither Leonardo nor Nasser Al-Khelaifi saw this as good business for PSG.
With Antoine Griezmann's release clause already having been paid upfront, Barcelona are unlikely to find the means to splash out a sizeable transfer fee, hence the use of players in the offer. The Parisien club know that their huge star desires pastures new and, although his priority is to rejoin the Spanish champions, has also put the feelers out to some of Europe's other elite clubs, including Real Madrid.
What PSG, and his list of potential suitors, may be inclined to consider now, however, is the extent of Neymar's foot injury. Should they sell and get the best they can now rather than risk having a player who a) doesn't want to play for them, and b) may potentially not be able to feature as much as they'd like?
Teresa May once claimed that no deal is better than a bad deal, but, it didn't take her too long to realise that she may have been mistaken. Will PSG follow her lead?