A rumored deal could put an end to two transfer sagas and see Neymar arriving at Real Madrid.
It is no secret that Real Madrid have been working all summer in an effort to move on from Gareth Bale. Zinedine Zidane flat-out said that the player did not participate in the game against Bayern Munich because the club was working on selling the player. The latest rumor is they are now willing to let him leave to China for free.
Over in France, PSG find themselves in a similar situation with their star player, Neymar. While they are not looking to be rid of him, they are fed up with his antics and are willing to sell him if the right offer comes along. The player himself has been an angling for a move back to Barcelona.
A new rumor has surfaced that could potentially end things once and for all and leave all parties relatively satisfied.
Miguel Delaney from The Independent writes, “Key figures close to Neymar have been trying to force a sensational swap for Gareth Bale plus cash, potentially solving two of the biggest deadlocks and player controversies this summer.”
A Bale plus cash swap for Neymar does make sense and essentially kills two birds with one stone. Real Madrid get to announce a new flashy signing and PSG get a replacement for Neymar as well as allowing Mbappe to play in the center. It would be a much more simpler deal than anything Barcelona were rumored to have been offering and the relationship between Real Madrid and PSG is a lot more cordial than the one the French side have with Barcelona.
Delaney also reports that Zidane might not be all that convinced by Neymar but based on his comments about Bale, he may well prefer that situation gets solved and simply deal with Neymar if and when the time comes.
According to Sport, Bale’s agent is unaware of the proposed deal but that could just be posturing at this point given his own recent comments against the Real Madrid manager.
Despite claiming for last few months or so that he only wants to go back to Barcelona, Neymar knows the financial position his former side find themselves in and may be looking at alternatives. With two seasons removed from being a Barcelona player, fans may not resent him as much as they did Luis Figo should he join their rivals.
At one point, they seemed primed to take over for Messi and Ronaldo at their respective clubs. Now they may turn out to be bargaining chips for clubs who no longer want to deal with them.