Barcelona superstar Neymar has handed in his transfer request on Wednesday, the Catalan side has announced on their official website, in lieu of massive speculation in the media that the Brazilian international is set for a move to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain. If such a transfer will come to fruition, and likely it is, you can bet spectators will be hitting up football ticket sites such as footballticketpad.com in order to see the new man in action.
Neymar’s move to the French capital has been circulating the back pages for weeks now, although none has been heard from PSG, Barcelona, or the player himself, at least until Wednesday.
“The player Neymar Jr, accompanied by his father and agent, has informed FC Barcelona this morning of his decision to leave the Club in a meeting held at the Club’s offices,” the Blaugrana announced on their official website.
Barcelona have made clear, however, that they will not let Neymar leave unless their demands are met, adding, “the Club refer to the buy-out clause of his existing contract which as of 1 July totals €222-million (£198-million) which will have to be deposited in its entirety.”
Oh Neymar, there is only one direction to go from @FCBarcelona and that's backwards.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) August 2, 2017
Despite this, the world-renowned Catalan side appear to have acquiesced to Neymar’s current demands, allowing the player to miss training sessions while the transfer saga rolls on, saying, “The player remains under contract at FC Barcelona but with temporary permission to not take part in training sessions.”
On one side, sure, the demand that Neymar’s transfer clause be paid in full all but rules out the transfer happening this summer. PSG, for all their cash and resources, will certainly not be willing to splash such an enormous amount of money just to land one player – although it is arguable they are able to do so.
They’ve said their goodbyes—let’s hear it: who replaces Neymar? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/KhZuekIjIK
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 2, 2017
However, Barca relenting to Neymar’s decision to skip training sends a bad signal to the rest of the team – that the Blaugrana can be compromised with, which blatantly steers away from the club’s key slogan, that they are “more than a club”.
Such a tagline means that everyone should respect the club’s decisions with reverence, treat the club with dignity. So far, Neymar’s actions have proved the opposite, and it’s the club who appear to be appeasing the player, when the club should stand firm on their decisions. No one singular player should be more important than the club. That main tenet is being tested to its core.
Barcelona have lost many key players before – Luis Figo’s controversial transfer to Real Madrid a noteworthy example. And yet the Blaugrana kept going, keeping the banner of the Camp Nou club high at every challenge.
Neymar’s departure should be treated with the same courage, not cowardice.