Amid a Kylian Mbappé transfer saga that has consumed the club in chaos, PSG appears to have another disgruntled star looking to leave the French capital.
On Monday, French newspaper L’Équipe reported that Brazilian superstar Neymar has submitted a transfer request to the PSG board just days before the start of the Ligue 1 season.
The 31-year-old forward featured as recently as Thursday in South Korea in the club’s preseason tour of Asia, which made more headlines for the absence of Mbappé than for the tour itself.
ESPN reported that Neymar is eyeing a stunning return to Barcelona after four successful seasons with the Spanish club. However, given its complicated financial situation, Barça has yet to register its summer signings, including midfielder İlkay Gündoğan, and would be hard-pressed to sanction a pricey move for its former star.
Last season, after Neymar was ruled out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury, PSG fans gathered outside his house in Paris to demand his departure—an incident that reportedly weighed in his transfer request. Neymar’s request comes just days after PSG agreed to the signing of forward Ousmane Dembélé from Barcelona.
In six seasons since arriving in a world-record €222 million transfer from Barcelona, Neymar has won five Ligue 1 titles with PSG. However, despite partnering him with Mbappé and Lionel Messi over the last two years, PSG could not manage to secure a Champions League title, coming as close as runner-up in the 2019–20 season.
