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Thiago Silva Says He Told 'Indispensable' Neymar to Stay at PSG
August 26, 2019
Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva has told Neymar to stay with the club and believes the Brazilian forward is an "indispensable" player for the French champions.
The centre-back spoke to RMC (h/t Get French Football News) about his compatriot amid speculation he will leave the Ligue 1 side before the close of the transfer window on September 2:
"Neymar is an indispensable player for any team. He was at Barca, now he is ours. This is a specific problem between the player and the club. We cannot get involved. In my head, I hope that he stays. Yes that is what I have said to him already. It is difficult to say to him all the time: 'You stay, you stay...' I do not know exactly what is going on between him and the club. I honestly hope that the window is almost over because I cannot handle this anymore."
Neymar's preference is to return to former club Barcelona, and the Catalan giants are set to make a new offer for the Brazilian to move on loan with an obligation to buy next summer, according to Lluis Miguelsanz at Sport.
Le Parisien (h/t AS) report that PSG will make a counter-offer of €100 million plus full-back Nelson Semedo and forward Ousmane Dembele, but the Spanish champions are unlikely to accept to deal.
Meanwhile, PSG boss Thomas Tuchel told Canal+ (h/t Goal's Josh Thomas) that the club need to clarify Neymar's future "as soon as possible."
The 27-year-old has yet to feature for the Ligue 1 side this season, and Tuchel has said he cannot play for the club until his future is resolved, per Jonathan Johnson at ESPN FC.
The striker's future has been further complicated by injuries to fellow forwards Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe:
Goal's Robin Bairner questioned whether PSG would still allow Neymar to leave given their injury situation:
In contrast Barcelona seem spoilt for options in attack. The club already have Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann and Dembele in the squad and gave young forwards Carles Perez and Ansu Fati game time on Sunday.
Perez scored in a 5-2 win over Real Betis, while Fati came off the bench to make history at the Camp Nou:
Neymar has seemed determined to leave PSG for Barcelona this summer, but the two clubs have been unable to agree a deal. Time is now running out in the transfer window, meaning a move back to the Camp Nou is starting to look increasingly unlikely.