IN SPORT.ES
Neymar has said 'no' to Real Madrid and 'no' to Florentino Perez. The decision couldn't be clearer from the Brazilian star despite Madrid's attempts to make him their new 'galactico' signing. Perez and his right hand man, Jose Angel Sanchez, have both tried to convince the PSG forward to form part of Zinedine Zidane's revolution. They wanted him to be their Cristiano Ronaldo replacement.
The player's father, as well as his other representatives, listened to the offer on the table but after seeing Madrid crash hard in LaLiga, Champions League and Copa del Rey he decided to say 'no'.
barça is still the "dream” move
The idea of joining Real Madrid has never been on the cards for Neymar. Back in March he said: "I had a dream, which was to play for Barcelona, and I did that."
In the same month SPORT revealed that Madrid were willing to offer €350m for Neymar in order to convince PSG to let him go. But even that wasn't enough to convince the Samba star.
Real Madrid then hoped the break down in the relationship between Mbappe and Neymar would play in their favour. Florentino believed he could convince 'Ney' to follow in Luis Figo's footsteps by ending up at Madrid. They put a deal for Mbappe to one side to focus on Neymar. Now the situation has turned on its head but PSG won't entertain offers for their French talisman.
hazard is a consolation prize
After striking out with Neymar, Madrid's consolation prize is Eden Hazard. The recent signings mean there is no longer an obvious place for Neymar in the expected XI next season.
Perez then moved onto damage control by leaking suggestions he didn't want Neymar due to his off the field lifestyle and how it wouldn't fit with the values of Madrid. This hasn't gone unnoticed by the player's people and will count against them should they later try and sign Neymar.
dressing room opens the door to his return
A large section of the Barça dressing room would welcome Neymar back. He's still close friends with Messi and Suarez and many remember the quality he brought to the team. He was part of the last Barça squad which won the Champions League (2015) and with that competition being the priority nowadays, his inclusion would go a long way to making that happen.