PSG are asking for way too much for Neymar

Real Madrid and Barcelona have submitted competitive offers for PSG forward Neymar, but the Ligue 1 champions continue to draw a hard line for a player who seemingly has little interest staying in Paris.

Neymar has made it no secret that he wants to leave PSG, and it’s come to the point where the Brazilian superstar is no longer training or even playing for the team. PSG recently fell to Rennes again, losing 2-1 in their Ligue 1 opener against the team that defeated them in last year’s Cup Final. And yes, they lost without Neymar on the pitch.

That in itself shows Neymar’s importance to the team, which makes it understandable for the club to want to recoup as much of the 222 million euros they spent on the 27-year-old two years ago.

The problem is that Neymar doesn’t want to play for PSG anymore, his presence may be making it more difficult for them to keep an even better and younger player in Kylian Mbappe, and he’s not worth 222 million euros as a disgruntled player who has an injury history and is now two years older.

Bleacher Report and ESPN journalist Tom Williams compiled a list of offers sent to PSG for Neymar, including Real Madrid’s recent bid that was reported by L’Equipe. 

Barcelona’s first offer is basically nonsense and no longer valid now that Philippe Coutinho has been loaned to Bayern Munich, but their second offer is more than fair. A potential 180 million euro deal for Neymar two seasons after he was purchased for 222 million is more than fair, especially because the player has no interest in staying in PSG. Again, he’s two years older and suffered a significant injury last season, so his value shouldn’t be near 222 million euros; PSG already got two exceptional years out of a top-three player.

Real Madrid’s offer is also fair. Gareth Bale is basically a salary dump, though a necessary one since Neymar would cost 38 million euros per year. James Rodriguez is a player who should interest PSG, Keylor Navas could compete for the starting goalkeeper job, and 100 million could net PSG at least one exceptional young player in the summer of 2020.

Yet PSG have rejected all these offers and seem dead set on getting at least 200 million euros in total value for Neymar. MARCA is even reporting that they’d like 250 million euros from Barca next summer after a potential loan. That seems like a fool’s errand. Barcelona are incredibly interested in purchasing Neymar and have done plenty to make this reunion happen, including working a clever loan-with-an-obligation-to-buy deal that fits their budget, which has been constrained this summer due to the purchases of Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong.

If PSG don’t agree to sell Neymar this summer, his value is only going to decrease in 2020, and he’s only going to be even less trustful of the organization’s upper management. Barcelona and Real have submitted deals worth over 150 million euros in total value, and there’s no guarantee Neymar would net that sort of money in 2020 as he heads into his age-28 season. That’s especially true if this ordeal causes him to lack focus on the pitch and leads to a down year. It’s important not to assume that will be the case, but it would be understandable.

Furthermore, PSG have to convince Mbappe to stay in 2020 and beyond, because the interest from Real and others will undoubtedly be there. Mbappe can’t be too impressed with how the organization has handled Neymar’s situation.

At this point, it’s clear that PSG need to take what they can get for Neymar and be happy that they are even receiving fair offers because everybody knows Neymar wants to exit. In that sense, PSG have no leverage, so it’s a testament to the forward’s quality that they are even receiving lucrative deals from La Liga’s richest clubs.