Shanghai red-carpet treatment for Neymar amid PSG rumors
Print Edition
NEYMAR hit the red carpet in Shanghai yesterday as speculation mounted that the Brazil star could be set to quit Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record 222 million euros (US$260.5 million).
The 25-year-old striker is at the center of an apparent tug of war between the two European giants in what would be the most expensive transfer fee in football history.
A training spat with new Barcelona signing Nelson Semedo during a preseason tour in Miami ramped up chatter that Neymar could be about to swap Spain for the French capital.
Neymar, who has remained tight-lipped about the transfer rumors, posted a message for Chinese fans on Weibo, after arriving for a promotional visit.
“Ni Hao China! I’m Neymar Jr. and I’ve just arrived in China,” he wrote. “I’m in Shanghai at the moment. I would like to send a huge hug to all my Chinese fans, thank you very much for your support.”
He later posed for a scrum of photographers and television journalists and answered questions about fashion, before attending an evening event for a clothing brand.
Neymar also posted on Weibo a picture of himself with fellow Brazilian forward Hulk, who plays in the Chinese Super League for Shanghai SIPG.
Even following the training-ground bust-up in the United States, after which Neymar appeared to storm off, his Barcelona teammates said they wanted him to stay at the Nou Camp. “Neymar and I, we are very close and I want him to stay and I know the situation,” Spain defender Gerard Pique told ESPN FC.
“Right now he doesn’t know what to do and we are trying to help him — the ones (on the team) that are more close to him — to take the right decision.”
PSG’s pursuit of Neymar has angered some in Spain, where football league chief Javier Tebas says he will file a complaint with UEFA for financial fair play breaches by the French club.
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