Neymar excused from Barcelona training as £199m PSG move nears

Barcelona have given Neymar permission to miss training amid speculation of a world-record transfer to Paris St Germain.

The Brazil forward has been heavily linked with a 222 million euro (£199million) move to the Ligue 1 club this summer.

And Barcelona confirmed on Wednesday the 25-year-old had been allowed to miss training.

The club tweeted: “Neymar Jr hasn’t trained with the permission of the coach”.

Neymar told team-mates he was leaving the club before departing from the training ground, according to reports in Spain.

The former Santos player has a contract with Barca until 2021, but PSG, deposed by Monaco as French champions last term, appear prepared to activate his release clause.

That would make Neymar the most expensive signing in history, more than doubling the record fee Manchester United paid Juventus for Paul Pogba last summer.

In his three seasons in Catalunya, Neymar has helped Barca win LaLiga twice, the Champions League once, three Copa del Reys and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Neymar reportedly met with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi in Qatar on Tuesday.

Al-Khelaifi was giving nothing away during an interview with Moroccan broadcaster Medi 1 TV over the weekend.

In quotes reported by various European news outlets on Tuesday, Al-Khelaifi said: “Right now, Neymar is a Barcelona player and we’ll see what happens with him.

“We respect all contracts signed with other clubs and players.

“To be honest, I’d rather not to talk about this matter now. I hope to do it at another time.”

The unprecedented scale of the deal has sparked rumours that Barca could make a complaint to UEFA over a purported failure to adhere to Financial Fair Play rules by the purchasing club.

UEFA has said they have not received a complaint but would look into the details of the transfer if it goes ahead.

PSG’s squad contains four players who have played with Neymar for Brazil, with Dani Alves – also a team-mate at Barcelona – having already joined the club this summer.