NEYMAR TO PSG LIVE TRANSFER UPDATES: All the latest as PSG unveil £199m superstar signing…
Neymar has landed!
10:51: Neymar has arrived in Paris ahead of his grand unveiling as PSG’s £199m superstar signing.
Neymar was greeted on the tarmac by recently retired PSG left-back and fellow Brazilian Maxwell, now an ambassador for the club, before leaving La Bourget airport amidst a motorcade of people carriers.
Neymar will be unveiled as a PSG player in an official ceremony this afternoon at 1.30pm in Paris – 12.30pm UK time – to end a saga unlike anything seen in football before.
PSG fans queue for Neymar shirts
10:32: PSG fans have wasted no time in getting their hands on replica Neymar shirts.
Supporters have been queueing outside the club megastore at the Parc des Princes to get a shirt with ‘Neymar JR 10’ on the back.
Neymar ready to win Champions League
10:00: Neymar is targeting Champions League glory with PSG after completing his world-record transfer to the ambitious French club.
Owned by Qatar Sports Investments, the Parisians’ principal target remains winning the Champions League, a competition in which they have consistently failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals.
And Neymar, a Champions League winner with Barcelona in 2015, has now committed to the challenge of landing Europe’s top club prize with PSG.
He said: “I am extremely happy to join Paris St Germain.
“Since I arrived in Europe, the club has always been one of the most competitive and most ambitious.
“And the biggest challenge, what most motivated me to join my new team-mates, is to help the club to conquer the titles that their fans want.
“PSG’s ambition attracted me to the club, along with the passion and the energy this brings. I have played four seasons in Europe and I feel ready to take the challenge.
“From today, I will do everything I can to help my new team-mates, to open up new horizons for my club and to bring happiness to its millions of supporters around the world.”
Five things about Neymar
Think you know everything about Neymar? Think again…
1. Family first
Neymar is guided by his family. His father, Neymar Santos Sr, is his agent, is a former player himself and earned his son his first sponsorship deal at the age of 17. Neymar has a tattoo of his sister Rafaella Beckran’s face on his arm, while in turn she has Neymar’s eyes on hers.
2. Nearly the Real deal
He has made his name with Barcelona but could have joined Real Madrid as a 14-year-old. He travelled to the Spanish capital but said he chose the “cultural values” of growing up in his home country. He described it as “my first serious choice”. Resting the pressure of moving to Europe was not always easy. Neymar Sr told the New York Times how strangers would approach him in the street and tell him to send his son overseas.
3. Never blowing bubbles
He scored his 100th professional goal on his 20th birthday in 2012. By this point, the Santos man had been the subject of interest from West Ham, with the player himself admitting he had talks with the club’s hierarchy via video link-up.
4. Star of the silver screen
In June 2016, Vin Diesel said that Neymar would be starring alongside him in the action film Return of Xander Cage. He went on to play himself. In the film, a character played by Samuel L Jackson tries to recruit Neymar to join the National Security Agency. His fame extended to him being named on the TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world – the only footballer on the list.
5. Sneaker freak
Neymar is a keen collector of trainers and once spent more than £14,000 on them in one shopping trip. He has his own collaboration with Nike and basketball great Michael Jordan, the ‘Air Jordan v Neymar’. He described meeting the six-time NBA champion as one of the happiest moments of his life.
