The saga of the world-record transfer that took Neymar to Paris St-Germain took a twist yesterday when the player’s seemingly ever-present father, Neymar Santos Sr, told Spanish radio that Barcelona lost his support to retain his son when they refused to pay a bonus for signing a new contract last year.
The Sunday Times revealed last week that Neymar Sr had asked PSG to delay the transfer until after July 31, allowing him to earn a £23.3m commission for persuading his son to sign a new contract with Barcelona last October. Although the 25-year-old Brazilian striker joined the Qatar-owned Ligue 1 side on Thursday, August 3, after they paid his €222m (£200.5m) buyout clause, Barcelona have refused to pay the commission.
Barça spokesman Josep Vives said on Friday the club had deposited the bonus with a notary to be paid on September 1 if Neymar stayed. However, Barcelona have recovered the money, because “the player hasn’t fulfilled his contract”, according to Vives.
Neymar Sr said he had lost faith in the Barcelona board when they failed to pay the bonus when it was due last week. “Barcelona lost my support when they did that,” Neymar Sr told Cadena Cope radio station. “Until that moment I was on Barcelona’s side trying to convince Neymar to stay, but with the attitude of the board I couldn’t be on their side because the contract is explicit and clear.”
However, Neymar Sr stressed that the decision to move had been his son’s. “I think he has been very brave; he had the right to take this decision,” he said.
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Still, Neymar Sr can take comfort from the more than £45m of commissions he will earn through the transfer, while his son is expected to earn a basic salary over five years of more than £270m.