Neymar transfer rumors: La Liga to block move to PSG

In the latest saga surrounding Neymar to PSG, La Liga will attempt to block the transfer from happening due to Financial Fair Play rules.

It has become the most talked about transfer in years. Kyrie Irving’s trade request has nothing on Neymar leaving Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain, at least as far as the money involved. And even though Barcelona have a strong team without him, the Brazilian’s loss will still be a huge blow.

At this point, the deal seems all but official. PSG have agreed to match Neymar’s €222 million exit clause, he’s already fought with new teammate Nelson Semedo, and reports have suggested the deal will be announced in 36 hours.

But La Liga president Javier Tebas has other plans, as Sport (h/t SI) has revealed he will block the deal from happening, having suggested it would be a violation of Financial Fair Play.

"Although PSG didn’t pay the clause we will denounce them. We advised the PSG president what we were going to do and we saw PSG’s policy continue along the same line. They cannot make a number in which their commercial rights are greater than those of Real Madrid and Barcelona. Nobody believes this."

As we’ve seen in the past, violating FFP is a serious offense which usually results in a transfer ban of one year. Barcelona themselves have been hit with it in the past over the alleged international transfer of minors. However, they were subject to an investigation over their initial purchase of Neymar back in 2014.

While they would never admit it, perhaps Barcelona would be happy to rid themselves of Neymar. While he’s a world-class talent, he’s proven to be a distraction to the club, while his teammates are reportedly sick of the speculation he’s moving to PSG. Even if he were to line up with Barca on opening day, there may be a lot of tension that we don’t know about.

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In light of all this, SI has found a way to capitalize on Neymar-mania by making him their most recent cover athlete. Having him pose in a Brazil shirt was a smart move on their part, since they have no idea which team he’ll play for next season.