Barcelona, a club not used to losing star players, accepted the largest transfer fee of all-time as Paris Saint-Germain funded the release clause for Brazilian striker Neymar on Thursday. The $263,480,000 fee didn’t just shatter the old record, it eviscerated it, more than doubling the $117.6 million Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba.
The Neymar transfer saga is finally over. We have heard from Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ronaldinho and Iniesta. But the one person we hadn’t heard from during this entire circus was the ring leader of the entire thing.
It isn't just a rumor anymore. Neymar has completed his move from Barcelona to PSG. Earlier today, Barcelona announced Neymar and his father had activated the Brazilian forward's buyout clause and now PSG have announced Neymar has officially joined the team.
PSG announced the move with this extremely cryptic tweet:
In a statement Thursday, Barcelona announced the fee to trigger Neymar's release clause had been paid by Neymar and his father, making the Brazilian attacker a free agent.
Barcelona's statement in full:
There is a myth that jersey sales can help recuperate the transfer fee for a new player, that a player’s popularity can overcome a high asking price for a player. The fact is, Neymar’s $263 million release clause to leave Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain will hardly be dented by the French club selling a few more jerseys.
Let’s take a look at some numbers.
Meet Amine Harit, a French U-20 attacking midfielder who just arrived at Schalke 04 via Nantes for $9.5 million. He's not a global sponsor for Nike, Gillette, Panasonic or Beats by Dre, he's never had his own custom Air Jordan sneakers or been featured on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer, but he remains one of the brightest attacking talents in world football today.
So, Neymar to PSG is really heating up now. After Barcelona admitted Neymar said he wanted to leave and Messi said goodbye on Instagram, the Brazilian forward is reportedly in Porto to undergo a medical. The big story right now (read: for like the next 15 minutes until something else insane happens) is Neymar's PSG contract, which, according to Sky Sports, is a whopper.
This morning Barcelona announced that Neymar had announced to them his intention to leave the club, presumably for Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona also announced that they informed Neymar his release clause, a cool 263.2 million, would still have to be met.
PSG have yet to actually meet this release clause, which would terminate Neymar's contract with Barcelona and allow him to sign a new one with PSG, but they certainly have the means. Messi has already said goodbye.
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.