Money, however, is not everything for the 24-year-old forward, and he decided to stay at Barcelona. He also signed a new contract with the club.
“Even though he is going to receive less at Barcelona, Neymar has decided to stay at the club,” Neymar’s agent Wagner Ribeiro said in an interview.
The new contract of the 24-year-old Brazil international runs until 2021, with a release clause reported at €200m at the start of the deal and €250m towards its end. Money is no obstacle for clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, but it is not everything for players like Neymar.
The Brazilian had become even more successful over the previous two seasons, winning La Liga twice, the Copa del Rey twice, the Spanish Super Cup, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. A month earlier he had also won the Olympic football tournament with Brazil. What interested him most now was simply winning more trophies.
A salary of €25m a year is hardly a small one, and it is fair to ask how much more anyone needs. More is always tempting, of course. But Neymar was no longer playing for money: he was enjoying his partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and wanted to win more trophies, which looked very likely at Barcelona. From that point of view, he made the right decision.
The MSN partnership
The trio that persuaded Neymar to stay had already made history. In the 2014-15 season Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, known as MSN, scored 122 goals between them, a Spanish record for an attacking trio in a single season. Neymar, born in Mogi das Cruzes in the state of Sao Paulo on 5 February 1992, had been unveiled by Barcelona on 3 June 2013 after coming through the youth academy at Santos, where he made his senior debut in March 2009. That same 2014-15 season ended with a treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, and Neymar scored Barcelona’s third goal in the 3-1 final win over Juventus in Berlin.
Brazil’s Olympic gold medal had been won on 20 August 2016 at the Maracana, where Neymar opened the scoring against Germany with a free kick and then converted the decisive penalty in a 5-4 shoot-out win after a 1-1 draw. The new contract was designed to protect the partnership at Barcelona. It ran until 2021, and its buy-out clause was set at €200 million, rising to €222 million in the second year and €250 million after that.
How the story ended
The clause turned out to be decisive in a way few expected. Less than a year after the new deal, Neymar’s representatives paid the €222 million release clause in full, and on 3 August 2017 Barcelona announced his departure to Paris Saint-Germain. It was the most expensive transfer in football history at that time, more than double the previous record.
In Paris he won Ligue 1 several times, including in 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2022-23, and he reached the 2020 Champions League final, which PSG lost. He moved to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia on 15 August 2023, for a reported €90 million, and returned to Santos, the club where his career began, in January 2025. For Brazil, on 8 September 2023, he scored twice in a 5-1 win over Bolivia and overtook Pele’s scoring record for the national team.
Questions people ask
What were the terms of Neymar's 2016 Barcelona contract?
Neymar's new Barcelona contract ran until 2021. Its buy-out clause was set at €200 million, rising to €222 million in the second year and €250 million after that.
When did Neymar join Paris Saint-Germain?
Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017. Barcelona announced on 3 August 2017 that his representatives had paid the €222 million release clause, the most expensive transfer ever at that time.
How many goals did the MSN trio score in 2014-15?
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar scored 122 goals between them in the 2014-15 season. It was a Spanish record for an attacking trio in a single season.
Where did Neymar play after Paris Saint-Germain?
Neymar moved to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia on 15 August 2023 for a reported €90 million. In January 2025 he returned to Santos, the club where he had made his senior debut in March 2009.