Neymar ‘will only sign new PSG contract if Lionel Messi moves to the French champions’ with the Brazilian winger revealing his desire to reunite with his former Barcelona team-mate earlier this week
- Both Neymar and Lionel Messi have been linked with moves away next summer
- Messi nearly left Barcelona earlier this year after submitting a transfer request
- Brazilian Neymar has been linked with a PSG exit for around eighteen months
- Reports claim Neymar will only sign a new deal with PSG if Messi joins the club
Neymar will only sign a new contract at Paris Saint-Germain if the French giants complete a deal for Barcelona captain Lionel Messi next summer, according to reports.
The Brazilian winger has been linked with a move away over the past 18 months, ever since the 28-year-old went AWOL for pre-season training over a potential return move to former club Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Messi is out of contract at the Catalan club until the summer of 2021 and nearly left the LaLiga giants earlier this year after a fall-out with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Neymar will sign a new deal at Paris Saint-Germain if Lionel Messi joins the club, say reports
Neymar (right) and Messi (left) enjoyed great success together at Barcelona over four years
And according to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo, Neymar’s future in France will be determined whether cash-rich PSG can stump up the funds to bring in Messi, in a transfer that would be earth-shattering within the football community.
The PSG winger, whose contract expires in 2022, intensified speculation over his future by revealing his desire to link-up with Messi again after the pair won two LaLiga titles, three Spanish Cups along with the 2015 Champions League and Club World Cup titles in a four-year spell.
Speaking after PSG’s 3-1 win over Manchester United onWednesday, Neymar told ESPN: ‘What I want most of all is to play with Messi again, to be able to enjoy him once again on the pitch.
Neymar (above) claimed in midweek that he would love to link up with Messi again in his career
Spain’s Mundo Deportivo claimed Barcelona could deploy ‘Operation Neymar’ soon
‘He can play in my role, it wouldn’t be a problem with me! I’m sure that next year, we have to do it again.’
One potential factor that could determine the Brazilian’s future is the Barcelona presidential election, with the senior figures having different fews over the futures of both Neymar and Messi.
Former president Bartomeu was keen to bring back Neymar, but Toni Freixa sensationally claimed that the Brazilian is ‘not even in the top 30 players in the world.’
Barcelona presidential hopeful Toni Freixa said Neymar is not in the top 30 players in Europe
Meanwhile, Joan Laporta wants Messi to remain at Barcelona and revealed that both him and Neymar have a good understanding on the pitch together.
The presidential candidate said: ‘It is normal for him to say it, they are friends and have an established understanding between them. This relationship is normal. I hope that Leo can wait and listen to the proposal of the new Barcelona president.
‘We have contact with Leo, I know he appreciates me, we respect each other, but we have not talked about the renewal.
‘Messi guarantees you to aspire to be able to win everything. I want him to stay at Barca.’
