Santos “taking action” to bring Neymar back to Brazil from PSG
The president of the Brazilian club, Andrés Rueda, said the board had been discussing a strategy to facilitate Neymar’s return to Serie A.
Santos president Andrés Rueda has said that the Brazilian Serie A club are “taking action” towards securing the eventual return of PSG forward Neymar, whose future at the Parc des Prince remains up in the air. The Brazil captain is eager to remain in Paris and win the Champions League with the Ligue 1 giants, but there is an increasing sensation that the club’s Qatari owners are thinking of sacrificing the world’s most expensive player as they seek to build a side for the future around Kylian Mbappé. “I have received more than a hundred messages about Neymar,” said Rueda after a board meeting on Wednesday. “I hope they trust in us more.”
Neymar’s PSG future up in the air
Neymar came through the ranks at Santos before moving to Barcelona in 2013 and Rueda suggested it would be “naïve” on his part “not to do something about Neymar” given the possibility that he may become available. Due to his wage demands and the two years remaining on his PSG contract, the Brazilian is likely to cost any interested parties a handsome amount but Rueda was coy on how far Santos could feasibly go for their former youth star. “Action is being taken but there are things that were discussed at the meeting that I cannot reveal: it’s strategy,” the Santos president said.
Not helping the storied Brazilian club’s cause is an ongoing financial crisis at the Estadio Urbano Caldeira that makes a return for Neymar a very difficult prospect. One of the best-paid players in the world, the 30-year-old would be required to take a huge pay cut to re-join his former club. However, he may be tempted as he spends as much time as possible in Brazil, where he is currently on holiday. On Wednesday, he posted a photograph of a party at his mansion on the Rio de Janeiro coastline with a two-word message: “Be happy.”