Barca star Neymar confirms China tour after U-turn

Barcelona forward Neymar will travel to China after the trip was initially cancelled due to “transfer issues” as he continues to be linked with Paris Saint-Germain.

Travel company Ctrip on Friday said Monday’s fan event in Shanghai had been called off amid growing speculation that Neymar is set to join Ligue 1 giants PSG in a world-record €222million deal.

However, Neymar performed an apparent backflip as he used Chinese social media platform Weibo to announce his imminent arrival following the International Champions Cup, where Barca are set to face Real Madrid in Saturday’s Clasico.

“Greetings to the fans in China! I’m Neymar Jr, this is my official weibo account. I am going to be sharing my own personal experiences here with Chinese fans,” Neymar wrote.

“I’m looking forward to your following and reposting! See you in Shanghai on Monday!”

Neymar’s representatives also released a statement confirming the trip, though they claimed the 25-year-old Brazil international was never scheduled to be involved in an event with Ctrip.

“We inform that Neymar Jr.’s appointments in China at July 31st are still confirmed. He will be joining some FC Barcelona’s sponsoring actions and will be also at Replay’s event, which was already schedule.

“We also communicate that the Chinese agency is selling tickets to fans, without the knowledge and approval of those who represent Neymar Jr., who would never do something like this. After this notification, the agency cancelled the meeting.

“We confirm, again, that there was never an agreement about a meeting with the fans, much less an authorization to sell tickets.

“Neymar Jr. never would participate in an event that sells tickets to fans.”