Sports: No deal yet for Neymar’s return to Barca

Barcelona has denied a deal to seal Neymar’s return to the Nou Camp has been completed.  Sky Italia reported earlier in the day that the big-money move was close to being finalised – however the Spanish champions have insisted a deal is not yet done.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Catalan giants said the reports were ‘false’ as Barcelona cannot agree to include Ousmane Dembele as part of the deal.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his PSG counterpart Nasser Al-Khelaifi were in Monaco yesterday for the Champions League group stage draw.

The two clubs had been in long-running talks over the 27-year-old Brazilian, who left Barcelona for Paris in a world-record £200million deal in 2017.

The Brazil international completed training with his team-mates in Paris on Friday.

Neymar looked in good spirits as he ran through a series of drills with compatriot and team-mate Thiago Silva.

With the European transfer window set to close on Monday, PSG had reportedly rejected an offer of £118m, plus Ivan Rakitic, Jean-Clair Todibo and a season-long loan for Dembele.

PSG was holding out for a fee much closer to the £200m they paid, while Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid were said to be preparing their own big-money offer.

The initial reports suggested, however, believed that the above players excluding Dembele – formed part of an agreement reached.  (Theguardian)