PSG ready to pay €190m for Neymar – agent

Paris Saint-Germain were willing to spend €190million to land Neymar in the transfer window, according to one of the Barcelona star’s representatives.

Wagner Ribeiro claims the French champions had also put together a deal which would have seen Neymar earn approximately €767,000 (£650,000) a week.

PSG deny both claims but Ribeiro insists Barca rejected the offer and instead persuaded Neymar to sign a new five-year contract.

“He was very close to joining PSG. There he would have earned €40m a year, free [after tax]. PSG were ready to pay the buy-out clause of €190m,” Ribeiro told ESPN Brasil.

“Neymar was also close to a move to Manchester United. But he renewed his contract for less money with Barcelona, because he wanted to stay in Barcelona.”A PSG source denied Ribeiro’s claim in L’Equipe, however, telling the French daily: “It’s totally false.

“With employer contributions on top, that salary would have cost more than €60m a year. It’s obscene. Neymar used us to strengthen his hand with Barcelona.”

Neymar joined Barca from Santos in 2013 in a controversial deal and has gone on to win two La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey twice and the Champions League in 2015.

The 24-year-old’s contract in Catalonia, which runs through to 2021, has a €200m buyout clause after the first year, rising to €222m the following year and €250m by 2019.