Neymar release clause payment rejected by LaLiga

LaLiga has refused to accept a payment of €222million that meets Neymar’s release clause, potentially presenting a stumbling block to the player’s proposed move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Specialist sports lawyer Juan de Dios Crespo arrived with a notary at the league’s offices in Madrid early on Thursday in order to deposit the official documentation, including the cheque to release the Brazil international from his current Barcelona deal.

However, LaLiga has refused to accept the money. A LaLiga statement read: “We can confirm that legal representatives of the player came to LaLiga to deposit the clause and that this has been rejected. This is all the information we are going to give at the moment.”

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has previously warned that they would block any attempt by PSG to push ahead with the deal and would take their complaint to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulators if necessary.

“We will not accept that money from a club like PSG that, without belonging to LaLiga, want to benefit from the rights of our organisation,” he told AS.

“If UEFA don’t react, we will present our case immediately. We haven’t done it yet because we thought that UEFA were going to take measures to ensure that Financial Fair Play (FFP) is respected, and this ‘financial doping’ is avoided.”

It is believed that LaLiga do not have the authority to prevent Neymar’s transfer if the release clause is met, and could leave the player and his advisors having to ask FIFA to grant a provisional transfer to allow him to make his PSG debut against Amiens on Saturday.

Barca confirmed on Wednesday that Neymar has been excused from first-team training duties after asking to leave the club.

PSG have not commented on the potential world-record deal but it is reported that the 25-year-old is due in the French capital on Friday to finalise the move, having completed a medical in Porto.