Paris Saint-Germain have agreed a three-year contract extension with Neymar, ending speculation that the Brazilian could leave the club this summer.
The huge new deal is reportedly worth £26m per season, with the forward set to be on that lucrative £500,000-a-week rate until the summer of 2025.
Neymar, 29, had one season remaining on the deal he signed when joining PSG in 2017, and has been repeatedly linked with a move away from Ligue 1, possibly even with a return to Barcelona. But this weekend’s announcement puts an end to that transfer speculation.
This week’s Champions League semi-final defeat to Manchester City means that Neymar’s wait for European glory with PSG continues. The Brazilian has missed five knockout matches in the Champions League since joining PSG due to injury, but has featured heavily in the side’s run to the final last year and semi-finals this season.
Neymar has scored 85 goals in his 112 PSG appearances since joining from Barcelona, winning seven domestic trophies in that time.
“Paris Saint-Germain is delighted to announce that Neymar da Silva Santos Junior has signed a contract extension for a further three seasons until 30 June 2025.” A statement read.
“Since joining the club in 2017, the Brazilian international (103 caps, 64 goals) has carved out a place among the Paris Saint-Germain club legends. With 85 goals and 51 assists in his 112 games for the club, PSG’s twinkle-toed no.10 has also broken into the top ten scorers in the club’s history.
Neymar himself said “I’m really pleased to continue my adventure at Paris Saint-Germain,
“I’m very happy in Paris, and proud to be part of this squad, to work with these players, a great coach and to be part of the history of this club.
“These are things that make me believe even more in this great project. I have grown as a person here, as a human being and as a player, too. So I am very happy to extend my contract and I hope to win many more trophies here.”
Focus will now turn to the future of Neymar’s PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe. The 22-year-old Frenchman also has just a year left on his existing deal, and has been heavily linked with a move away this summer, with Real Madrid the most likely destination.
But, with Real and a number of Europe’s biggest clubs unlikely to spend huge money following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mbappe’s options may well be limited. PSG are hopeful of using that to persuade the World Cup winner to agree a new deal later this month.