Oh my God, Neymar really does this again

The first report is not really a report, but a statement of Paris Saint-Germain proper. The club said that Neymar was supposed to be training Monday with the rest of the team, but jumped. It's normally a headline, but with the growing buzz that separates it from Barcelona, ​​or even Real Madrid, it becomes A Whole Thing. The statement did not dampen the rumors, largely because of the brevity and abrupt assertion that the club "deplores" the situation and will take the necessary action.

The second report comes from a conversation between The Parisian and the new (and former) PSG sports director, Leonardo. Leonardo made it very clear that the club's position, which was rather vague and political ("we want players who want to be here"), had become a direct "we will sell Neymar if the offer is correct". but it is perhaps the first real gun of this saga.

Clubs are generally not making public the fact that their players are for sale, for two reasons. First, it tends to depress the player if buying clubs know he is in the market. This does not seem to be the case of the PSG, which has more money than God; they seem willing to hold the players as semi-hostage if they do not get what they feel is an appropriate offer (see Adrien Rabiot's odd saga for an example). The second reason is that, if the sale does not materialize, the player must return to work after being called essentially for not wanting to be there, which never goes very well with the bases of reactionary supporters of European football. At this point, would Neymar return among the faithful of the PSG?

We may not have to discover; Apparently, Barcelona is still exploring the exchange of players (plus money) we talked about the last time. The details are not settled yet, even though it seems that PSG would take Ousmane Dembélé, Samuel Umtiti and money. This seems fair, depending on the value of money, but that would leave Barcelona with Philippe Coutinho's problem for another year; The only good news is that, as in 2017, Neymar and Coutinho would like to play together.

Does the fact that they play in the same position pose a problem? Of course. Will it matter to the Barcelona board if it means he will have to bring back one of the top three players on the planet? Probably not. (In their defense, the club president and Vice President Josep Maria Bartomeu said last week that they wanted Neymar, but that PSG did not want to sell. It may well have changed this week, even though Bartomeu again spoke to the media on Tuesday to remind him that the club's position remains the same.)

So, as we enter the dead end of the summer of football – the Women's World Cup, Copa America and Gold Cup all ended last Sunday, while the African Cup of Nations will end this week – every whisper becomes a hurricane. This is doubly true in this most prestigious transfer saga of the season. Neymar arrived with his luggage. It's important: he's hurt all the time, he's probably worse than he was when he left Barcelona two years ago and is accused of rape in his native Brazil. But for purely on-the-ground purposes, Barcelona seems to have decided to bring it home, and in that sense, it's hard to blame them.

As we reach what will probably be the end of Lionel Messi's extensive bonus, the quality of the players around him counts more than ever. Bringing back someone with whom Messi loves and likes to play seems obvious. With this week's reports, it seems that PSG is willing to cooperate there. All of this could be completed earlier than expected, even a month ago.