La Liga giants Barcelona may offer their talismanic forward Antoine Griezmann to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in order to get Neymar back into their folds, reported IANS via Sky Sports.
Barcelona have long wanted to get their former Brazilian superstar back ever since he left Camp Nou in 2016. The Catalans were ready to pay Neymar’s transfer clause and all the other added amounts that PSG had asked for but were restricted by UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations ahead of the 2019-20 season.
After signing French World Cup-winner Griezmann for 120 million euros and Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong for 75 million, Barcelona got restricted in their pursuit for Neymar who had left the club for Parc des Princes for a record transfer fee of 222 million euros.
However, the Blaugaranas seem determined to sell Griezmann even if PSG don’t agree to the deal, though the current market might prevent such hefty deals from happening, given how many clubs are struggling financially as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the report further said.
Meanwhile, after initial reports had stated that Barcelona players were reluctant to take a pay cut due to the financial stress caused by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, captain Lionel Messi cleared the air and said they were willing to take the cut and make additional contributions to ensure non-sporting staff receive full wages.
In a statement, Messi said: “Before going any further, we want to make it clear that we were always willing to reduce our salaries because we understand perfectly that we are in an exceptional situation. We, as players, are always here to help the club when they ask.”
“It does not cease to surprise us that from within the club there were those who tried to put us under the magnifying glass and tried to add pressure to do something that we always knew we would do,” the Argentine football great said, as per the BBC.
(With IANS inputs)