The transfer saga embroiling Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Neymar reached a crescendo on Wednesday, although only the most ardent of Neymar and Blaugrana supporters wouldn’t have seen it coming. Barca released a statement confirming Neymar’s desire to leave the club for around $263 million, and Neymar informed his teammates of his decision before missing the day’s training session.
The prospective loss of Neymar, as well as the astronomical fee Barcelona will receive for his sale, has fueled rumors of a potential domino effect in the transfer market. After receiving the giant check in the mail from Qatar (I think that’s how it works), will Barcelona turn around and hand the check to Borussia Dortmund for Ousmane Dembele or Juventus for Paulo Dybala or Liverpool for Philippe Coutinho?
Saturday’s El Clasico at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami gave over 66,000 spectators the opportunity to watch the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Gareth Bale, but the lasting legacy of this match will probably be the confrontation between Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic and American referee Jair Marrufo.
Rakitic’s goal in the 7th minute gave Barca an early 2-0 lead, but his 73 minutes on the pitch weren’t entirely enjoyable.
Add Ronaldinho's name to the list of current and former teammates who have gone on record about Neymar's rumored transfer to PSG.
In the wake of increasing chatter about Neymar's potential move to Paris Saint-Germain, Ronaldinho gave Neymar some advice that's probably easier to say than follow when faced with a potentially record-breaking deal of $260 million to leave Barcelona.
While Neymar hasn’t entirely exited Barcelona, he has shown himself the door at Thursday’s training session in Miami. With Barca slated to play Real Madrid Saturday in a friendly, Neymar’s bust-up with new signing Nelson Semedo is exactly what the tabloids craved.