{"id":13030,"date":"2017-08-04T23:44:47","date_gmt":"2017-08-05T04:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=13030"},"modified":"2017-08-04T23:44:47","modified_gmt":"2017-08-05T04:44:47","slug":"neymar-signs-with-psg-set-to-become-worlds-highest-paid-soccer-player-ahead-of-messi-and-ronaldo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=13030","title":{"rendered":"Neymar Signs With PSG, Set To Become World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Player Ahead Of Messi And Ronaldo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Paris Saint-Germain has officially signed Neymar<\/a> to a 5-year playing contract, ending a saga that had consumed the summer transfer market. The club will present the 25-year-old superstar at the Parc des Princes on Friday at 1:30 p.m. local time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"\"Paris Saint-Germain<\/small><\/strong><\/div>\n
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Neymar officially signs with Paris Saint-Germain on a 5-year playing contract.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

FC Barcelona had released the Brazilian earlier this afternoon, announcing it accepted a $263 million (\u20ac222 million)\u00a0 buy-out payment in full in an online\u00a0statement<\/a>. This came just hours after La Liga offices said it originally rejected that payment, ESPN FC reported<\/a>. No reason was immediately known, though speculation was Barca requested UEFA to investigate how PSG could finance the transfer under fair pay rules.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Neymar informed his former club of his desire to go to the French capital just yesterday, the Catalonian club confirmed then on its <\/span>website<\/a>. In that same statement the club also reminded him it expects to be paid his buy-out clause in its entirety. The player was relieved from practice until the matter was resolved.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The fee PSG paid is a new transfer record, more than double the previous $120 million Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba<\/a> one year ago, and 3.5 times what Barcelona paid to acquire Neymar<\/a> from Brazilian team Santos just four years ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition, PSG confirmed it signed Neymar to a 5-year contract through June 2022 (five months before the World Cup in club owner’s country of Qatar) and is estimated to pay him $350 million in salary and bonus before-tax . All told the Parisian club\u00a0 is on the hook for a cash outlay in excess of $600 million for the winger\u2019s services.<\/strong><\/div>\n

It is easy to see why Barca, which posted a record $770 million in revenue<\/a>last year and is worth $3.64 billion as the second most valuable soccer club in the world<\/a>, questioned how PSG could complete this transfer in compliance with UEFA Financial Fair Play rules. The Ligue 1 runner-up only generated $92 million in operating income and is worth $841 million<\/a>. FFP limits club losses and contributions owners can spend to sign players.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But as my colleague Mike Ozanian reports<\/a>, PSG owners Qatar Sports Investments\u2019 influential oil money may have something to do with it. After the Qataris purchased the club they pumped an additional $340 million<\/a>into it to recruit high-profile players, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Success followed. Since then, it has claimed the Ligue 1 title four times and was runner-up once. Financial disparity followed too. Per Sporting Intelligence\u2019s annual Global Sports Salaries Survey 2016<\/a>, PSG now leads the league in salary cost, paying an average $5.5 million per player, 21.5 times the average pay at Nancy, the club with the smallest average team salary. It\u2019s the widest discrepancy in any major sport league in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Neymar da Silva Santos J\u00fanior (Portuguese pronunciation:\u00a0<\/small>[nej\u02c8ma\u0281 d\u0250 \u02c8siwv\u0250 \u02c8s\u0250\u0303tus \u02c8\u0292\u0169\u0272o\u0281]<\/a><\/span>; born 5 February 1992), commonly known as Neymar or Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian professional footballer<\/a> who plays as a forward<\/a> for French club Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> and the Brazil national team<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neymar came into prominence at an early age at Santos<\/a>, where he made his professional debut aged 17. He helped the club win two successive Campeonato Paulista<\/a> championships, a Copa do Brasil<\/a>, and the 2011 Copa Libertadores<\/a>, Santos’ first continental title since 1963. Neymar was twice named the South American Footballer of the Year<\/a>, in 2011<\/a>and 2012<\/a>, before relocating to Europe to join Barcelona<\/a>. As part of Bar\u00e7a’s attacking trio with Lionel Messi<\/a> and Luis Su\u00e1rez<\/a>, he won the continental treble<\/a> of La Liga, the Copa del Rey<\/a>, and the UEFA Champions League<\/a> in the 2014\u201315 season, followed the next year by the domestic double<\/a>. He came third for the FIFA Ballon d’Or<\/a> in 2015<\/a>. In August 2017, Neymar moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> in a transaction worth \u20ac222 million, making him the world’s most expensive player<\/a>.[note 1]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

With 52 goals in 77 matches for Brazil since debuting at age 18, Neymar is the fourth-highest goalscorer<\/a> for his national team. He was a key player in Brazil’s victories at the 2011 South American Youth Championship<\/a>, which he finished as the leading goalscorer, and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup<\/a>, where he won the Golden Ball<\/a> as player of the tournament. His participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup<\/a> and 2015 Copa Am\u00e9rica<\/a> was cut short by injury and a suspension respectively, but the next year he captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in men’s football<\/a> at the2016 Summer Olympics<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Known for his dribbling<\/a>, finishing, and ability with both feet, Neymar has earned comparisons to former Brazil and Santos forward Pel\u00e9<\/a>. Off the pitch, he ranks among the world’s most prominent sportsmen; SportsPro<\/a><\/i> named him the most marketable athlete in the world in 2012 and 2013, and ESPN<\/a> cited him as the world’s fourth-most famous athlete in 2016.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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