Sports

Soccer’s transfer record set to be smashed as Neymar reportedly allowed to leave Barcelona

Key Points
  • Neymar Jr. given permission to 'sort future out' by Barcelona F.C.
  • PSG said to be willing to meet release fee of 222 million euros.
  • Transfer from Barcelona would smash current transfer record of 105 million euros.
Neymar of Barcelona celebrates his goal during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final first leg match.
Clive Rose | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The Brazilian soccer star Neymar has reportedly been given permission to leave Barcelona soccer club and looks set to join Paris St-Germain in a deal worth at least 222m euros ($263m).

The BBC said Wednesday that Parisian club's Qatari owners are prepared to meet the release fee and that Neymar has told teammates he is ready to switch.

The report added that the player has been told by Barcelona staff to "go and sort his future out".

Barcelona FC has supported the story by tweeting from the club's official account that the player "hasn't trained Wednesday with the permission of the coach".

Tweet 1

Neymar moved to Barcelona in 2013 and has scored 105 goals in 186 matches for the club.

Soccer's transfer boom

If the deal were to go through, it would dwarf soccer's previous record transfer from 2016 when French player Paul Pogba was sold by Juventus to Manchester United for a reported 105 million euros.

Welsh player Gareth Bale became the first 100 million euro player when he was sold by London club Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in 2013.

Pierre-Philippe Marcou | AFP | Getty Images

The current transfer market window may not have yet hit those heights but there is strong evidence of growing fees among the world's biggest clubs.

Last month's 57 million euro transfer of English defender Kyle Walker from Tottenham to rivals Manchester City raised eyebrows, given his reputation as a strong defender with few "star" qualities.

And while the cash rich English Premier League has been prominent this year with several transfers exceeding 40 million euros, China has also started to flex its financial muscle.

Despite its reputation as a weak soccer team, Shanghai SIPG managed to bag Brazilian star Oscar for more than 70 million euros in December.

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