Neymar ‘passes PSG medical’ ahead of £199m move from Barcelona to France
Neymar has passed a medical in Portugal ahead of his move to Paris Saint-Germain, according to reports in France.
The Brazilian star is expected in Paris on Thursday and made a day trip to Porto on Wednesday after telling his Barcelona team-mates he wanted to leave the club.
French paper L’Equipe say Neymar passed his assessment under the supervision of PSG doctor Dr. Eric Rolland and sport co-ordinator Maxwell.
Earlier today, we reported Neymar will miss ‘uncle’ Lionel Messiwhen he goes for a world record £199 million.
The Brazilian will be in the French capital on Thursday to finalise his move from Barcelona in a deal that will cost PSG a total £576 million over five years.
The 25-year-old on Wednesday told Barca he wants to leave, and then informed his teammates at the club’s training ground that he was off.
Messi posted a picture of their neighbouring lockers and said: “It was a huge pleasure to have shared all these years with you friend. I wish you good luck in this new stage of your life. Lots of love.”
Neymar responded: “Thanks brother. I will miss you uncle.”
The forward will move to France for a £199m transfer fee – the value of his buyout clause – and pen a five-year contract worth £49m-per-year before tax.
Once tax is deducted he will take home around a staggering £520,000-a-week or £27m every year.
Qatar Sports Investment, whose portfolio includes PSG, are understood to be funding the transfer by striking a sponsorship deal with Neymar worth over £300m.
That will allow him to effectively pay his own release clause in full and buy himself out of his Barcelona contract, leaving the Nou Camp club powerless to stop the deal.
As part of the deal he is set to become an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
However, La Liga and Barcelona chiefs are fuming that they are set to lose one of the game’s biggest names.
Once it became clear the deal was a possibility Barcelona’s lawyers worked to see if there is anyway it could be stopped.
And La Liga chief Javier Tebas warned: “The complaint is ready and will be presented to UEFA, the European Union and the Swiss courts.
“Basically, the complaint will be over unfair competition and against teams that receive financial injections from owners that ‘gift’ players to their fans by taking them away from others. PSG are a clear example of ‘financial doping’ by club/state.
“PSG’s accounts reflect that they have more commercial income than Real Madrid or Manchester United, which is to say that their brand value is bigger than these two clubs. Well, that is impossible.”
However they appear to be facing a losing battle with UEFA sources saying the deal can’t be stopped once Neymar’s release clause is met.