Javier Tebas considers eternal rivals at Barcelona and Real Madrid to be more important to the Spanish top-flight than PSG’s big-money transfer target
Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are more important to Spanish football than Neymar, says La Liga president Javier Tebas.
The Brazilian forward continues to be heavily linked with a record-breaking move to Paris Saint-Germain, with the French giants prepared to meet his €222 million release clause.
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His departure would represent a blow to Barca’s future plans, having formed part of a fearsome ‘MSN’ front line at Camp Nou.
He would also be a big miss for La Liga, as a global superstar and a man tipped for Ballon d’Or honours at some stage in his career, but Tebas believes the Spanish top-flight currently has greater assets.
“La Liga and Barcelona are bigger than Neymar,” he told Marca. “I would be more worried if Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi left.”
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Tebas has also questioned PSG’s claims that a deal could be done for Neymar without them breaching Financial Fair Play regulations.
He has vowed to file a complaint against the Ligue 1 side regardless of how much they pay for the 25-year-old, with the Spanish authorities not convinced that rules are being adhered to.
He added: “Even if they don’t pay the release clause we will report them.
“They cannot make up some commercial numbers that are bigger than Barcelona or Real Madrid.
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“Nobody believes that, which means that the state of Qatar is injecting money and that violates Financial Fair Play.”
PSG are owned and bankrolled by Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s Oryx Qatar Sports Investments company.
They have made Neymar a top target during the current transfer window after seeing Monaco snatch the Ligue 1 title away from Parc des Princes in 2016-17.
The French outfit also harbour ambitions of pushing for Champions League honours, having failed to progress past the quarter-final stage of Europe’s elite club competition since welcoming sizeable investment into the club.