PSG Announce Record-Breaking €222m Signing Of Neymar
French giants Paris Saint-Germain confirmed the signing of Neymar from Barcelona for a world-record €222 million fee after activating the Brazil international’s buyout clause on Thursday. Barcelona and Brazil superstar Neymar has been the subject of intense speculation this transfer window, after talks between him and PSG were confirmed. In what is now the biggest deal in football history, Neymar sealed his move to PSG after his lawyers and agent met with Spanish giants Barcelona and agreed on terms for the transfer after paying his buy-out clause.
A move that nobody had imagined would ever happen given the huge money and complications involved, finally saw the light of the day despite La Liga trying its best to block the move. Late doubts about the move had been raised earlier on Thursday when La Liga refused to accept the €222m payment from PSG to trigger the clause. The La Liga’s pathetic and silly efforts to block the move were proved as fruitless after Neymar’s legal team traveled to Barcelona to make the payment directly to the club. The deal for the 25-year-old smashes the previous record set by Paul Pogba for £89m in August 2016.The move will see Neymar earn 45m euros (£40.7m) a year – 865,000 euros (£782,000) a week – before tax from the initial five-year deal, a total outlay of £400m.
Neymar said he has joined “one of the most ambitious clubs in Europe”.
“Paris St-Germain’s ambition attracted me to the club, along with the passion and the energy this brings,” he added.
“I feel ready to take the challenge. From today, I will do everything I can to help my new team-mates.”
The move will hit Barcelona, who have only 29 days to replace one of their biggest stars and will be at the mercy of clubs who will be looking to make the most out of the situation the club find themselves in. The transfer proves the terrible state Barcelona find themselves in since the past few years; piss poor management, tax evasion, corruption and a declining Academy have all come to nib Barcelona in the bud. Meanwhile, PSG will be looking to cement their place among the elite clubs in Europe, having landed one of the best players in the world. The French side has arranged a news conference for 12:30 on Friday after which Neymar will be introduced to fans on Saturday at PSG’s first game of the season.
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