Neymar Jr. holds PSG hostage with contract clause
The Brazilian is leaving the club with no choice even if they want to offload him this summer.
It has been widely reported that Paris Saint-Germain are keen to let go of Brazilian forward Neymar Jr. this summer. However, it seems that the club may have shot itself in the foot thanks to a cause in Neymar's contract that allows him the option to go for an automatic extension.
According to Marca, Neymar has decided to activate the said clause, meaning that he opted to automatically extend his stay with the Ligue 1 champions until 2027. This comes at the heels of reports claiming that the club is looking at Kylian Mbappe as the club's primary attacking leader in the coming years, especially after the Frenchman made the decision to stay at the Parc des Princes for a further three years.
The Mbappe contract came with a massive price tag, and while the funds are far from running dry, PSG needs to manage its finances. As it stands, they currently hold three of the highest paid players in world football, including Lionel Messi.
They were keen on generating cash from the likes of Chelsea FC and Juventus, who were believed to be interested in signing the Brazilian. Neymar earns about 30 million euros net per annum, which is a hefty price tag even for the Qatar-backed club. They were hoping that Chelsea's new owner Todd Boehly could splash the cash on a marquee signing like Neymar, but the player appears to be determined to stay at the Parc des Princes.
That puts a damper on the plans being made by club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who made headlines by saying that players need to do more when asked about Neymar's future with the club.
Neymar was PSG's blockbuster signing in 2017 for a record 222 million euros from FC Barcelona. However, he has so far failed to live up to the expectations on his shoulders. The club has now shifted its focus on Kylian Mbappe as the star of their sporting project, and they want to offload the high-earning Brazilian.
It remains to be seen if the club can still find a way to tempt Neymar to change his mind into looking at offers from other clubs.
