Yup, it happened boys. Barca has released an official statement stating that Neymar intends to leave the club and he will be traveling to London to finalize the terms of the deal. I don't really know why he had to leave, I suppose there is more going on behind the curtains than I am privy to but I still remain confident that Barca was the best place for Neymar.

Apparently he's gonna become the poster boy for Qatar 2022 and he'll get 300 million for that, of which 222 will be paid to Barca. So technically he's leaving for free and PSG wouldn't have "paid" a dime for him. Lawful or not? Idk

@Tuan_jinn I was talking about the top teams in the league. Both leagues have two or three strong teams, then things drop off. Overall La Liga is better for sure, but who wins the titles year in and year out? I have seen some terrible La Liga games with the lower table teams. :P

Reasons I can think of:

1. Messi just renewed his contract. Messi, Suarez and Neymar`s contract all end at the same time, in 2021. This means the deadly trio would work together for a lot of years to come... but it also means Neymar will have to constantly outperform those two to get the Ballo d'Or.
   Constantly outperform the greatest Barça footballer of all time who is not even showing he's aging at all? Even if Neymar does get to Messi's level (because he sure isn't yet), I doubt he would be able to pull down Messi and be the main man. Not just the hierarchy. All fans are and will be judging him unfairly, probably even more than Argentinians judge and compare Messi to Maradona.
   We have already seen what Neymar is capable of. During the time when Messi was injured, or during the last match against this same PSG.
   In PSG, Neymar will be the main man since the first day. He doesn't have to submit himself under anybody.
   In my true opinion, between the good-Barça-boy-Neymar and the count-on-me-version-Neymar, I prefer the latter.

1. Neymar has been fairly lonely last year. His closest friends have all gone to other clubs (Dani Alves, Adriano, ...) and Rafinha, the last brazillian left in Barça, also wants to leave. Not that he is not friends with everyone else. We all know he is close to a lot of teammates, Piqué for example. But a relationship with someone with closer similarities and identities is lacking. You can say he is close friends with Messi and Suarez for sure. But not like between Messi and Suarez: close age, same native language, being neighbors, talks about their kids, wives, etc.
   There is something special in a relationship between Brazillians. We have seen this in other Brazillians footballers as well. And we have seen Neymar and his dad attempt to bring more Brazillians into Barça last years: Phillipe Coutinho, Lucas Moura, Gabigol, Gabriel Jesus, ... all failed.
   In PSG, Neymar has his best friend Dani Alves, and other pals like Thiago Silva, Lucas Moura and Marquinhos.

2. Probably the biggest reason: his dad, Neymar Sr. It is very clear that Neymar does not have any relationship problems in Barcelona. It is very clear that Neymar always wanted to play there. He feels at home. Heck, before Neymar signed with Barcelona, his dad and his then agent tried to convince him to go to Real Madrid since 2006. This is way before Messi started being Messi.
   And... we all know how Neymar Sr is. In one word: a dick. He ruined relationship between Neymar and his former club Santos. He ruined relationship between Neymar and his former investor DIS. He constantly negotiates with a lot of clubs and then threaten Barcelona.
   And I don`t remember Neymar standing up against his dad during his career. Not even once.

I don't know if this is a good move. But it sure is a very risky move.
Neymar is being pointed by the PSG management as the responsible for the future CL trophy. Any other achievement will be minimalized. They don't matter. If Neymar doesn't get the CL trophy, he fails.

Is he Ballon d'Or material? I'd say yes. We have had Ballon winners who have achieved less than Neymar.
Will he win Ballon d'Or playing for Barcelona? I'd also say yes. However, not in a near future.
If Brazil wins the World Cup, will Neymar win the Ballon d'Or? Bigger chances in PSG than in Barcelona.

Will he now be mature enough for all this pressure and imminent headaches for it?
Certainly better than a few years ago.

Morally speaking, this move isn't right for a lot of people, but I think this move gives a huge statement from Neymar himself, and not the club he's going to.

This guy's a spoiled prick, has an attitude of a child, but carries a god given gift that millions of people would kill to have. To be honest, I would do the same thing if Barcelona doesn't interest me anymore. From what I see, it still very much look like Barcelona is prioritizing Messi more than Neymar, and it's sometimes difficult to be under someone's shadow when you know you could do much better for yourself elsewhere.

Got to hand it to Neymar. This move is ballsy, but it's also his way of saying, "I don't want to be playing with the best, I want to prove that I am the best". Maybe this is another corner of what is morally right as a footballer. It's a huge responsibility that only the likes of Ronaldo and Messi were able to show with their respective clubs. Perhaps PSG will be the last club Neymar stays in (hopefully, he can showcase his talents in the PL too if he desires it), but all and all, it's an understandable move. Good luck to him.

Espanyol with the heat!

(If you don't get it, they're making fun of Pique's post on Instagram titled "He stays")

Money move, don't get me wrong but PSG don't have the team to win the UCL, the stories if they get out in R16 again.

I love that he is leaving to be a club's #1 player and look to emulate the success he achieved at Barca, with a new group of guys. But apart from in the CL, he's going to be playing against such s*** opposition in France. Would have much rather seen him in the PL, or with a club like Atletico, Dortmund, Juventus or Milan.

I don't understand why nearly everyone here says PSG are a weak team and won't be successful.
Just look at this team:

Trapp;
Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Kurzawa;
Matuidi, Draxler, Verratti;
Neymar, Cavani and Di Maria.

Yes, PSG have not proven themselves in the Champions League yet.
But they do have what it takes to beat any side.

exactly @kirsi16 totally agree...v strong team

also the other thing i would like to quash is people saying neymar will struggle to lead the team or me the main man!

firstly he leads the international team so we know he can do it at a very advanced level already. also look at all the others that were second fiddle and then took the reins:

• cavani when ibra left PSG
• Rooney when ronaldo left Man U
• higuain when he left real Madrid

...and many more...

Money move, don't get me wrong but PSG don't have the team to win the UCL, the stories if they get out in R16 again.

Neymar scoring a free kick goal, diving for a penalty and scoring another penalty is the main reason why PSG was eliminated last season, with him in PSG now the whole team can get to the next level.

La Liga rejected the transfer fee for Neymar, maybe he will stay after all :D

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/la-liga-reject-payment-neymar-10922401

@Golazo wow, that is a big stand for them to make in the face of the whole rising transfer market thing...in the grand scheme of things i dont think it would be a bad thing as it would warn clubs and agents to keep transfers from rising too quickly

although i really want neymar to go to PSG so i hope they work something out!

@nigelpayne @Golazo They are just winning time and they said themselve that all they want is for PSG to be sanctioned, not to stop the move. Pretty stupid imo. :(

@Emo There is a theory that La Liga is controlled by Real Madrid, so this move by blocking the transfer is so that Barcelona can't use the money to buy new players before it's too late and that's why the delay is happening.

@Golazo Again, story of conspiration against Real. :P But I also heard it could be Barca pulling the string to try and keep Neymar. Imo, La Liga are too snob to accept team like Paris Saint-Germain can use such sums to get a player in their league. That or they really don't like PSG owner and want to create as much trouble as they can for him. :)

@Emo, Tebas, Spain's FA director is a known Real Madrid admirer. That still doesn't mean he would go out of his way to try to sabotage Barcelona. In a way this is La Liga loosing one of its biggest figures. The image of the league drops a bit. Just like how it happened to the EPL when all of their best players were picked up by Barca and Real. You can bet your ass that Ligue 1 will use Neymar to advertise everything, the new poster boy. Also, one of the things La Liga is claiming is that Neymar's lawyers shouldn't be the ones making the payment for the release clause (that way avoiding FFP).

In regards to the strength of PSG, I believe the team is highly overrated. They have some good individuals but Emery is an awful coach. Cavan is inconsistent missing too many chances and Di Maria is just crap, he has few sparks of brightness then ruins everything else. The mid and defence have some good depth which helps them but overall they are not at the very top yet, or at least fail to live up to that level.

In regards to the strength of PSG, I believe the team is highly overrated.They have some good individuals but Emery is an awful coach. Cavan is inconsistent missing too many chances and Di Maria is just crap, he has few sparks of brightness then ruins everything else...

Have you thought about who is going to save Barcelona if they meet again in Champions league knock outs with PSG, I mean in case Neymar is playing for PSG?

Last season without Neymar Barcelona would have been eliminated, now you got Suarez and Messi at 30 years old and Iniesta at 33 and the season is long, how are those guys going to keep up with Real Madrid whole season long with a limited bench?

Barcelona currently has more problems than PSG, the coach Valverde couldn't have imagined that his first tests would be outside of the training and pitch, he is having a hard time signing a key target.

@Golazo, its a fair point to make. Barca has an ageing squad and over the last 3 years have failed to bring in the talent required to compete consistently. But you have to look at Valverde, he did good thing while at Bilbao with a severely limited pool of funds and players. Barca will have an incredible amount of money available not only in transfer budget but also in wages. They can and should bring in 3 players to strengthen the attack and mid. But I know Valverde will look heavily at La Masia and attempt to bring in talent through there.

PSG would have to sell players to get that extra 110 million until the end of this transfer window. Which I think is not achievable given that they are not willing to release their best players like Veratti and Marquinohos which are quite marketable. But still La Liga should have no say in the transfer since it is UEFA that monitors the FFP regulations and stuff. Assuming that PSG is not able to attain the said 110 million they will be fined accordingly.

The problem is that UEFA had already fined PSG back in 2015 for some 60 million. Assuming that penalties get severe with repetition, UEFA may at their own discretion either fine PSG or (the more likely case since everyone will be looking for action) of banning them from all European competition(includes Champions league). Neymars chances of winning the Champions League might be in dark waters if that does happen.

Personally I have no problem with Neymar going. Neymar knows what is best for him and he's 25 years old and has given us a lot during the past 4 years which we should be grateful for. Cashing in 222 million Euros is good for the club and can be used to get some juicy players. Most importantly, with Neymar leaving, Barcelona has a hole which everyone is gunning to close. Players like Dybala and Coutinho who wanted starting positions might be more attracting to the idea of going to Barcelona now.

Dybala probably has it better in Juve than Barca. Barca is on an obvious decline; Juve don't look like they will be going anywhere anytime soon.

@Gonzalo: very interesting. As well as the conspiracy again Real, I wouldn't be surprise if it is true!!! Real is more than capable of doing that. But also the fact that Barca is pulling a string also possible.

Btw,

Who said PSG isn't strong enough? Their squad is pretty insane.