Pep Guardiola makes Neymar transfer decision after Paris Saint-Germain offered the Brazilian to Manchester City.
According to sources in Spain, Manchester City turned on the opportunity to capture Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar in the last hours of the summer transfer window.
This summer, Neymar was heavily linked to a transfer to the Premier League, with Chelsea being mentioned as a potential stop for the Brazil star.
But Neymar’s transfer fell through before the window closed for English clubs on Thursday night.
Neymar was reportedly offered to City late in the transfer window, but they declined the chance to sign the 30-year-old.
Despite the Brazilian’s great start to the new season, it is alleged that PSG was eager to sell him because of a falling-out with star forward Kylian Mbappe.
Despite the player’s talent, the report states that City “had no intention of executing a signing of such dimensions and with potential ramifications on the dressing room and the team’s operation.”
Pep Guardiola, the manager of City, allegedly “emphatically denied” the suggestion because “he did not want a terrible mood in his dressing room,” according to another Spanish publication called SPORT.
Neymar is alleged to have “friction” at PSG, especially with Mbappe.
With the topic of penalties coming up again in recent weeks, concerns have been raised about whether the two can get along in the same team.
READ MORE: Official: Xavi Hernandez’s Barcelona squad breakdown for the 2022/23 season
Neymar refused to allow Mbappe to take a second penalty against Montpellier last month after the France international had already missed one in the game, despite head coach Christophe Galtier’s confirmation that Mbappe is the team’s best penalty taker this season.
According to ESPN, Mbappe refused to give Neymar another chance to score because he didn’t like the manner he took the ball for the second penalty.
Neymar and Edinson Cavani got into a fight over penalties during the 2017–18 season, so this is not the first time the two have argued over penalties while playing for PSG.
Since inking a record-breaking three-year contract in May that will pay him an estimated £1 million per week at the Parc des Princes, Mbappe has seen his influence at PSG increase.
Neymar, who cost £198 million to transfer from Barcelona to PSG in 2017, is still the most expensive player in history.
His contract with the French champions runs out in 2025, and he has already scored 109 goals in 150 games.
