Barça: Mbappé emerges as priority target over Neymar
According to reports in the Catalan press, the Camp Nou board see the France international as a higher priority signing than Neymar.
Having failed to sign Neymar despite a very public courtship lasting the entire summer, the Barcelona hierarchy are apparently set on testing PSG’s patience even further by attempting to lure Kylian Mbappé to Camp Nou next summer to adorn a front line that already includes Leo Messi, Luis Suárez and the Frenchman’s international strike partner Antoine Griezmann.
Neymar made his intention to push through a move back to his former club abundantly clear, reportedly offering 20 million euros from his own pocket to sweeten the deal, but PSG stood firm throughout, rebuffing Real Madrid and Juventus as well as Barça with Nasser Al-Khelaifi stating that the Brazilian would not leave the Parc des Princes for less than 300 million.
Now Mundo Deportivo reports that Barcelona could be back in Paris soon to try and snap up Mbappé, who at the age of 20 has already won the World Cup and three Ligue 1 titles.
Barça see Mbappé as a better investment than Neymar
Barcelona see the France forward as a better long-term investment even if it will require a world record transfer fee that eclipses the 222 million euros they sold Neymar to PSG in 2017 for. A ball-park figure could be around the 300 million-mark that the Ligue 1 champions cited for the Brazilian, but could in reality be considerably more than that given Mbappé’s profile, his sell-on potential and the fact that PSG stumped up 180 million euros for him in the first place.
Also in the Camp Nou board’s thinking is that Mbappé is considerably less publicity conscious than Neymar, suffers fewer injuries and is a less divisive figure in the dressing room.