“We're starting to talk.
We are in the game.
The idea of renewing it exists.
In his long distance exchange with PSG supporters on Tuesday, Leonardo made clear his willingness to extend Neymar's contract.
Without being very precise on the state of the case: “The time has come to have clearer ideas.
We are starting and we will intensify in the coming weeks.
"
After the false start of the summer of 2019 in Barcelona, the parties took a long time to reconnect, not helped by confinement, the late Champions League then the extended transfer window.
As Leonardo indicates, discussions are in their early stages for the 28-year-old, who has played only 53% of official games since signing in 2017 for 222 million euros, with a maddening record of 72 goals. and 41 assists in 91 appearances.
The Neymar clan has been well informed of a desire from PSG to extend the contract which runs until June 2022. The climate is positive and all parties have agreed to meet as soon as possible.
What is not so obvious… “Today, people cannot even move”, explains Leonardo.
"This is not the kind of contract that is negotiated over the phone," confirms a person close to the file.
The star's father is currently in Brazil and his agent Pini Zahavi also resides abroad.
"His absolute will is to win the Champions League again"
Neymar and his entourage are currently in good shape.
An overtime is even considered a solid option in his inner circle.
“I'm having my best time in Paris,” said the striker in early August.
“He is happy at PSG,” confirms a relative.
From there to be sure to wish to extend?
It's a little more complicated: “He wants to be in a competitive club, which goes to the last four of the Champions League.
His absolute will is to win this competition again.
"
This summer, Neymar was among the players worried about the non-replacement of the stars who left the club (Thiago Silva and Cavani, in particular).
The Brazilian is also close to Thomas Tuchel, and his entourage will no doubt ask to know more about the plans in terms of coach.
Obviously, the salary question will be decisive and it is a perilous equation for PSG, which displays the ambition to continue with the Mbappé-Neymar duo.
The Brazilian receives each month 3 million euros "net - net", that is to say, net of charges and tax.
The slate for PSG is therefore colossal: 105 million euros per year, salary and amortization of the transfer included, according to Football Leaks.
Since Leonardo considers that Mbappé and Neymar are part of the “top 3” in the world, the two men will ask for compensation as a result, which does not fit well with the financial losses linked to the Covid.
Keeping Neymar seems easier than Mbappé
But this context could conversely favor PSG, while several clubs would have withdrawn from the race at Neymar last summer when they saw their accounts take water.
In the entourage of the star, we are convinced "100%" that European leaders have the financial and sporting depth to launch an operation Neymar in the summer of 2021. A strategic position, obviously.
Because it remains to be proven that clubs can align, even among the very rich English.
Dreams of a return to Barca seem far away with the player who witnessed the tumultuous summer of his friends Messi and Suarez dumbfounded.
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Several weeks may still elapse before all the parties get together around a table, confinement requires.
Less than 18 months from the end of his lease, time is on the side of “Ney”, even if no strategy to go free in 2022 does not seem on the agenda.
On the side of PSG, Leonardo is on the move, while his relations with the international Auriverde (103 caps, 64 goals) and his relatives have sometimes been stormy.
A fact that has not escaped President Al-Khelaïfi, who could intervene if the file gets bogged down.
The wait is high with the president and in Doha to keep the two jewels of the emirate and the sports director is playing part of his credit.
Keeping Neymar seems easier than Mbappé and it is this principle of reality that could prevail in the coming months, even if the virtuoso has already proven his appetite and his sense of dribbling.