French outlet L’Equipe has reported that the owners of Paris Saint-Germain, Qatar Sports Investment group, are fed up with Neymar.
The Brazilian has cut a divisive figure within the club in his last three seasons. Neymar has been injured for more matches than he has played for the club since making the sensational move from Barcelona in 2017. He is also reported to be a constant latecomer to training and is reportedly in the centre of a current dressing room rift between the club’s Spanish/South American contingent and French contingent.
L’Equipe claims that the QSI, headquartered in Qatar’s capital city of Doha, has had enough of Neymar both on and off the pitch, claiming his glamorous lifestyle – which they described as Neymar “preferring Paris to PSG” – has contributed to his fitness struggles.
The QSI, according to the report by L’Equipe, feel that the Brazilian has not helped them recoup the €222 million transfer fee or produced any gainful returns for the mega annual salary of £40.8 million which he earns every year.
The QSI have spent in excess of €500 million on Neymar since his move from Barcelona over five years ago, alongside several sponsorship bonuses.
“The French club’s shareholders feel they have been cheated out of their money,” says L’Equipe. Regardless, the club’s owners are considering keeping Neymar for at least one more season with the possibility of losing Kylian Mbappe in the summer increasing every week.
This is because there is no club with the financial ability to fund a Neymar transfer in the summer except nouveau-riche Newcastle United, and it seems unlikely that Neymar would make a move to the small city in his career’s final stretch.
Neymar has also been in a rebellious phase in the past few weeks, after boos from PSG fans to him and Lionel Messi following their unfortunate exit from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid.
The 30-year-old scored in PSG’s 5-1 rout of Lorient last week and posted a clip of his goal to his Instagram story with the caption, “I was ‘drunk’, that’s why it worked…. as they say out there.” The message was in response to journalist Daniel Riolo, who claimed that Neymar always arrived at the PSG training grounds drunk.
Riolo said on RMC Sport a few days before the Lorient game: “Neymar hardly trains anymore, he arrives in a lamentable state, on the verge of being drunk. Neymar is in a spirit of revenge against PSG, there is a total rupture with the club and the dressing room.”
