PSG Will Only Negotiate Neymar Sale In Griezmann Part Exchange With FC Barcelona, Claims Report

PSG will only consider negotiating the sale of Neymar with FC Barcelona if Antoine Griezmann is involved in a part-exchange deal, a report has claimed.

Bought for $129mn from Atletico Madrid last summer, the Frenchman has enjoyed mixed fortunes at the Camp Nou.

First struggling to integrate through his forced left wing spot, he still helped Barça roar to the top of the table alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the ‘MSG’ trident heading into 2020.

But then Suarez picked up a knee knock that ruled him out injured until April or May, which has, under new coach Quique Setien, seen Griezmann moved into a more central role on the front line.

With Ansu Fati to his left and Messi to his right, it is that pair that have struck chemistry while the World Cup winner has been left out in the cold.

In the meantime, rumors of a return to Catalonia for Neymar have persisted alongside those that Griezmann would be made uncomfortable by such a move in the transfer market.

To counter this, though, in early January, Mundo Deportivo ran a story claiming that he had given the ‘green light’ to an approach for the 28-year-old.

‘Nothing is further from reality,’ wrote Fernando Polo, as a response to the suggestions that the number 17 would feel put out by the presence of ‘four heavyweights’ in Barça’s locker room.

‘On the contrary, Griezmann would not have any problem or put up any obstacles or inconveniences upon the arrival [of the Santos academy product],’ it was added.

‘He knows he can lose some prominence, but he signed for five seasons and knows that the more quality [there is] in the team, the better,’ Polo went on, with his information apparently obtained by sources close to the player.

Now, thanks to claims made by ESPN’s Julien Laurens, it is known that Neymar is apparently available for a fee of $167mn. Preferring to focus on preventing Kylian Mbappe from leaving for Real Madrid, PSG’s sporting director Leonardo has fallen out with the Santos academy product and will not stand in the way of a desired reunion with his first ever European club.

On Sunday, SPORT ran a headline spread detailing how Barça will put Griezmann on the market after less than a year in Blaugrana colors, in an attempt to raise these funds for Neymar and a further $120mn for Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez.

Accepting no less than $110mn, Premier League outfits such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal may be attracted, but PSG were also mentioned as a possible suitor.

In this manner, Barça can kill two birds with one stone if a report from Le10Sport is accurate.

As relayed by Mundo Deportivo, the French outlet attests that PSG are not interested in part exchange deals for Neymar and cash plus the likes Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal or Samuel Umtiti. Instead, they are only willing to negotiate the sale of their 2017 world record buy if it involves Griezmann coming to the French capital and plying his trade at the Parc des Princes.

Mundo Deportivo defusing SPORT’s story on Griezmann being put up for sale by Barça, who see him as vital to the club in the short term communicated through actions like having him promote the first team’s new home shirt, financial difficulties may push their hand.

Yesterday, by ESPN’s Moises Llorens and Sam Marsden, it was revealed how club sources had told them that due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on revenues, the Catalans will only be able to afford Neymar or Lautaro and not both.

To appease members of the board split on who to pursue, it is perhaps only through part exchange deals that parties on each side of the fence can be appeased.