This email reveals a lot of interesting background on PSG’s transfer from Neymar (30) in 2017.
The Spanish site “El Mundo” has published an email from an ex-Barça boss. In this he wrote openly about why the Brazilian left Barcelona in 2017.
The explosive details at a glance!
The email in question was sent by Raúl Sanllehí (56) on July 31, 2017. That was just three days before Neymar’s move to PSG was made perfect. The Spaniard was director of professional football at FC Barcelona from 2008 to 2018. At the beginning of the mail, he recounted a visit to Neymar’s father: “I met an angry man today who is in a war mood. He’s very angry with the club.”
Background: Shortly before, Neymar’s signature bonus, which had been agreed upon when the contract was extended the previous year, had been leaked. The total was €64.4 million, of which €43.65 million had not yet been paid.
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According to the Mail, the father was actually in favor of Neymar staying in Barcelona. Sanllehí wrote: “For weeks he has been showing me that he is trying to convince his son not to make the mistake of going to PSG. (…) In this case, I am absolutely certain that he showed me that he was on our side.”
And further: “He never asked for more money, he repeatedly asked me for help and asked me to speak to his son personally. In the previous five negotiations, he never left me alone with him.”
According to the ex-Barça football director, the big shortcoming was Neymar himself. Sanllehí: “The problem in this case was the player’s head. He’s in bad shape, he has a lot of personal problems, he’s very confused and vulnerable. That’s why he wrongly thought that he could also run away from his problems by leaving Barcelona when he should have faced his problems.”
And further: “I kept talking to him personally, I made him cry several times, and he confirmed to me more than once that he didn’t know what to do anymore.”
Adding to Neymar’s personal difficulties was the betrayal of trust with his father, which was the last straw. Sanllehí: “I’ve had a lot of problems with my father in the last few weeks. I talked to him for hours upon hours. I can assure you that he has been on our side for the past two or three days. He then felt wrongly and unjustly betrayed when the matter of the unpaid contract bonus was made public. He understood that the club had leaked this to put pressure on Neymar and him, he even took it as a threat.”
And further: “That was the point when we started to lose control. Of course, I explained that there was no way we leaked it, but he told me that it was like the fart in the elevator, where it’s just you and one other person. The other person farted. From that point on, he tried to convince me that trying to keep his son was not appropriate. He told me that if he didn’t receive payment (of the signing bonus) he would have legal arguments to cancel the contract.”
That’s how it finally came about Neymar zu PSG went. He has never been a world footballer since then, and he only won the Champions League with Barça (2015). The world star has not yet been able to fulfill his big dreams.
