Neymar set for Barcelona stay

Neymar is set to reject interest from Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain to finally sign a new Barcelona deal in the coming weeks.

The Brazil skipper is three years into the six-year contract he signed with the Nou Camp club in 2013, triggering a renegotiation clause.

Barca had hoped to tie him up to an improved deal with a markedly higher release clause in the winter but found themselves shackled by self-imposed financial restrictions after paying out a glut of performance-related bonuses in the wake of last year’s treble.

It has meant that the 24-year-old’s release clause from 2013, an achievable €190million, has attracted interest from three of the world’s richest clubs.

Neymar’s camp has encouraged that interest to strengthen their negotiating position, and yesterday the Barca star’s representative Wagner Ribeiro said:

“Today there are three big clubs in the world who want to hire Neymar and pay the clause of around €200million to Barcelona.”

“I cannot say anything else, because it is a sensitive subject.”