Neymar: Barcelona Confirm Payment Of $263m
Brazil forward Neymar’s world record transfer to Paris St Germain has been consummated after his club Barcelona said on Thursday that the player’s representatives had paid the 222 million euros ($263 million) release clause in his contract.
“On Thursday afternoon, Neymar Jr’s legal representatives visited in person the club’s offices and made the payment of 222 million euros in the player’s name with regards to the unilateral termination of the contract that united both parties,” Barcelona said in a statement on their website. (www.fcbarcelona.com)
“As such, the club will pass on to UEFA the details of the above operation so that they can determine the disciplinary responsibilities that may arise from this case.
Neymar’s ‘transfer of the century’ from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain initially took another twist on Thursday as Spain’s football league refused to accept the 222 million euro ($260 million) cheque to pay his buy-out clause. Representatives of the 25-year-old Brazilian were turned away from the Madrid headquarters of La Liga, whose president Javier Tebas has accused the French club of breaching transfer rules.
“We can confirm that the legal representatives of the player attended La Liga to pay the clause and this has been rejected,” a La Liga spokesperson told AFP.
Legal experts said La Liga has no legal grounds to block the deal. “They had an indemnity clause agreed….and the rules are that if you have a clause agreed, you have to abide by it,” Marcos Galera, a lawyer and founding member of Spanish sports law specialists Agaz, told AFP.
However, the player, initially expected in Paris later Thursday, is now due to arrive a day later, according to airport sources in the French capital.
The French league called on their Spanish counterparts “to stick to FIFA’s rules and its responsibilities” to allow the world record breaking transfer to proceed.
