Manchester City could end up losing Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez this summer, so Pep Guardiola may need to bring in at least one new forward ahead of next season. One player the Premier League champions have been linked with is Neymar, but it’s hard to see City bringing him to the Etihad.
Guardiola wouldn’t overlook Neymar because of his talent, however, as the 30-year-old scored 70 goals with 35 assists from 134 games for Santos (2005 – 2013), scored 105 goals with 76 assists from 186 games for Barcelona (2013 – 2017) and scored 100 goals with 60 assists from 144 games for Paris Saint-Germain (2017 – present).
The Brazilian international wouldn’t be a good signing for City because of his lofty wage demands and injury history. Neymar takes home £780k-per-week/£40.8m-a-year at PSG, so he’d be the highest-earner at the Etihad by some distance – Kevin De Bruyne earns £400k-per-week/£20.8m-a-year.
He’s made only 92 Ligue 1 appearances from a possible 190 with the Parisians, so Neymar has missed more league games than he’s played in since making the switch. The fact PSG have lowered his asking price from £200m to £77.5m speaks volumes. He’s a talented player but not value for money.
In other news, ‘unnatural’ Man City defender tipped to leave as £45m upgrade ‘ticks every box’