Barcelona players offered to alter contracts so club could sign Neymar, says Gerard Pique
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Gerard Pique has revealed Barcelona players offered to tweak their contracts in an attempt to help the club sign Neymar.
The Brazil forward, who became the world’s most expensive player when he left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain for £200million in 2017, was heavily linked with a return to Camp Nou in the summer.
However, after spending a combined total of £174million on Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong, Barca could not afford to bring Neymar back to Spain.
And Pique, who played with Neymar for four years between 2013 and 2017, revealed his team-mates were desperate for the 27-year-old to return.
He told Spanish radio station Cadena SER: “We didn’t stump up money. What we said to the president was whether we could change our contracts because we knew there was a Financial Fair Play issue.
“So we said to the president, rather than earn something in year one, we could earn it in year two or three or four.
“At the end of the day we want to go along with what the club is doing and if we can help the club, in this case avoiding a Financial Fair Play problem, we’ve got no problem in doing that.
“Rather than reducing our salary it was about finding a formula so that if the club wanted to sign Ney they could.
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“At the time they thought it was a good idea, but then other problems cropped up.”
Neymar has felt the wrath of PSG fans since his move to Barcelona fell through, with the Parisian crowd booing him at times this season.
It led to Neymar comparing PSG supporters to having a girlfriend.
He said: “I’m very happy to be able to help PSG. It’s better with the fans.
“It’s like with your girlfriend, one moment you’re bad, but with hugs and a lot of love, it’s better.
“I am here to give my life to PSG. They are my team, the goal is to help my club, to continue to score goals.”
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