Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta urges Neymar to ignore PSG interest and stay at the club

Neymar cancelled a personal appearance in China next week because he was said to be 'busy with transfer business'

Saturday 29 July 2017 15:05 BST
Comments
Iniesta is desperate for Neymar to stay at the club
Iniesta is desperate for Neymar to stay at the club (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta said he would rather have Neymar at the club than a massive transfer fee, with speculations linking the Brazilian to Paris Saint-Germain in a world record deal.

PSG have reportedly held discussions with Barcelona about a transfer for the 25 year-old that would smash the world record 89 million pounds ($116.88 million) Manchester United paid for France midfielder Paul Pogba last year.

"I do not think 200-300 million will be more beneficial for Barcelona than having Neymar," Iniesta told a news conference ahead of the Saturday's pre-season friendly against Real Madrid.

"He is one of the best players in the world and I always want the best players in my team. I have no doubt that we all wish him to continue with us.

"We would like you (the press) to not keep asking (about Neymar) so much, but to end this, there is only one way: Neymar will speak."

Neymar, whose buy-out clause at Barcelona was set at over 200 million euros ($234.96 million), cancelled a personal appearance in China next week because he was said to be "busy with transfer business".

Iniesta also confirmed the training bust-up between Neymar and team mate Nelson Semedo on Friday but played it down, saying it only held more significance due to the recent transfer speculations.

"It's true that there was that incident, which can be part of a training session," Iniesta added.

"But because of the situation and what is being said about Ney, which is worldwide, it has much more significance. For those of us who are training however, it's nothing."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in