Neymar advised against Newcastle transfer and told it’s a ‘small, cold town’ as exit talk gathers pace

Brazil icon Neymar has been warned off a move to Newcastle United by ex-Brazil international Edmundo.

Joelinton has invited his Brazilian compatriot to join him on Tyneside. The Magpies’ Player of the Year has an open invite to St James’ Park with a cloud hanging over his future with Paris Saint-Germain.

Speaking on the Cast FC podcast, Joelinton said: “We can get him a spot. If he comes it will be…I can’t explain it.

“The man is an idol, huge in world football, so the invitation is done. Ney, if you are listening to this, you can come!”

Neymar became the most expensive footballer in history when he left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. PSG paid £200m for the 30-year-old, but they could be ready to let the forward move on.

Reports have suggested PSG, who are undergoing a summer of change, are open to offloading him. And ESPN suggest Neymar is now “considering leaving” the club because of their stance on his future.

Chelsea have been mentioned as a potential destination and “contact has been made”.

But it’s hard to take the furore serious with numerous other high-profile players historically linked with transfers before negotiating better terms.

Already though the striker has been put off a move to Newcastle by former striker Edmundo.

PSG move was right one for Neymar

“Newcastle is the nouveau riche. Now, I’ve been to Newcastle, it’s a small, cold town,” he said on the podcast Mundo Ed, via Goal.

“If he has difficulty adapting in Paris, he would not be satisfied in Newcastle. If they pay him what he earns, he goes.

“But he needs to be focused, concentrated, even because it’s a World Cup year. If he has an equal performance to the last two World Cups, will the next coach see him as a pillar for the future?”

Edmundo insists it was “a good choice” to move to PSG, where he has scored 100 goals in 141 games.

Edmundo added: “It was not a good choice for him to go to PSG.

“It was natural that he would earn what Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo earn, but over time, at Barcelona.

“He understood that he should go to PSG because of the money. The sports project was spectacular, but it was more for the team to show up than to win.”

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