Man Utd, Newcastle ruled out of Neymar race as journalist claims he wants to live ‘in a beautiful city’
Man Utd will not pursue a move for Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar “under the current regime” this summer, according to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs.
A report in French newspaper L’Equipe over the last 24 hours has claimed that ‘talks with Manchester United have started’ and that ‘discussions have been initiated with Premier League clubs’ in general.
It has been claimed that compatriot Casemiro is pushing Neymar to join with Man Utd in pole position for his signature but L’Equipe add that the Red Devils would prefer a loan move for the Brazilian.
But now Jacobs has quashed that speculation with Man Utd having “other priorities” in the transfer market and “are not in any kind of Neymar talks”.
Jacobs wrote in his Caught Offside column: “My understanding is Manchester United are not considering Neymar, at least not under the current regime. It’s all just intermediaries offering up the player because Neymar is likely to leave PSG this summer. Manchester United have other priorities as things stand and are not in any kind of Neymar talks to my knowledge.”
Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has also been talking about Neymar on Tuesday and comes with confirmation that the 31-year-old is on PSG’s “exit list”.
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Di Marzio told Les Transferts: “I don’t know where he’d go, but I know that he’s on their ‘exit list’, like a lot of other players at PSG.
“They want to do a revolution of the squad. They want to get young players and let some of the big names leave. Not Mbappé, but Neymar is on the list.”
On reports that Newcastle are also interested in Neymar’s services, Di Marzio added: “It’s difficult to place Neymar at any club because of his salary. He won’t accept any destination.
“I don’t know if Neymar would accept Newcastle, because he wants to play in big cities at top clubs. It’s not easy for him to find another big club.
“The certain thing is that PSG would be open to letting him go. Where to, I don’t know at the moment.”
Di Marzio continued: “These kinds of players want to live in a big town, where they have the possibility to go out, to have a beautiful house and have friends in their house. So it’s normal that he would want to stay in a beautiful city.
“That’s why it’s difficult for him to maybe accept Newcastle or towns and clubs that are not ‘top’.
“Even the salary makes it difficult. I think it’s really difficult for him to accept Newcastle.”
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