Chelsea owner Todd Boehly wanted to sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain and held a transfer meeting with the Ligue 1 leaders ahead of their Champions League tie
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly recently met with Paris Saint-Germain over an audacious plan to sign Neymar, but the Brazilian is intent on finishing his career at the French club.
Boehly reportedly flew into the French capital last month to meet with PSG chiefs ahead of the first leg of their Champions League clash against Bayern Munich. The French league leaders were dumped out of the competition with a tame three-goal aggregate loss.
That outcome understandably cast further doubt upon the futures of their star players, as they exited the Round of 16 of the competition for the fifth time in the past seven seasons. PSG have still never won the Champions League.
Neymar’s future at the Parc des Princes has come under increasing scrutiny amid concerns within the club that they will face fresh Champions League sanctions for further Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches.
PSG were one of 10 clubs fined for breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules for the 2020-21 season. They paid out a €10million fine while having a further €45m suspended pending future accounts, with further punishments possible.
Neymar – who has been ruled out for the remainder of the current campaign through injury – is the most expensive footballer of all time after PSG signed the superstar from Barcelona in a stunning £200million move in 2017. The 31-year-old has netted 118 goals in 173 appearances for the French club but there has been a lingering sense that he has failed to hit the huge expectations that many predicted.
Neymar and Mbappe have not seen eye-to-eye at PSG this season
Despite a report from Le Parisien that Chelsea owner Boehly has asked PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi about his availability, it has been clarified by The Athletic that the forward has no interest in a move away and wants to remain in Paris.
This is despite the Brazilian superstar enduring an ongoing feud with star attacking partner Kylian Mbappe. The French ace is said to be keen on the club to cash-in on the Brazilian. PSG boss Christophe Galtier moved to tackle the issue head-on by staging a first-team meeting in which the two were rebuked and apologised, while Lionel Messi acted as a ‘mediator’ to help quell the ongoing discontent between the pair.
Possible sanctions for PSG if they continue to breach FFP regulations could include the French club being unable to register any new players to their European squad for next season and a possible reduction in the size of their registered squad for European competition dropping from 25 to 23. A future ban from European competitions could not be ruled out if breaches continue.
New contracts for Messi and Sergio Ramos are on hold in light of possible further FFP breaches with PSG aiming to reduce spending ahead of next season.
