How PSG's last effort to keep Neymar went
Even as recently as last week they tried to get the Brazilian to stay
PSG are battling between the idea of keeping a marquee player and the need to get rid of said player who never felt comfortable in Paris, and whose injuries have left him out of combat in decisive moments.
Neymar himself decided his time in Paris ended, months ago, and has put on pressure to move back to Barcelona. His aim was to do something not done before at PSG - for a star player to force his way out.
The orders that arrived in Paris from Doha were often contradictory. Sell him, keep him, don’t play him, renew his deal… etc. Until last week there were attempts to steer the situation away from crisis.
The most recent came in the days ahead of the clash with Toulouse. Recovered from injury, he could play. The idea was to pick him and let him take the first step towards reconciliation. Neymar was ready to do so.
However the day before the game, the PSG chiefs sat down with Ney to ask him to play and commit himself to the club. Neymar’s response was clear. “I’ll play but I’m not committing myself to PSG.”
Ney didn’t care about the potential banners or the chance of getting an injury that stopped a potential transfer - he loves playing football. But he would not commit himself to PSG.
The order came through from Doha. “Neymar doesn’t play any more.” And PSG realised they had to sell him.
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