Neymar unaffected by PSG speculation - Barca team-mate Mascherano

Javier Mascherano believes Neymar should stay at Barcelona for many years as speculation linking the Brazilian to PSG continues.

Published : Jul 22, 2017 00:50 IST

Barcelona team-mate Javier Mascherano believes Neymar has not been affected by speculation linking him with a world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Brazilian is reportedly the top transfer target for PSG as Unai Emery's men look to win its first Champions League crown and reclaim the Ligue 1 title from Monaco.

Barcelona technical secretary Robert Fernandez has suggested, however, that football's Financial Fair Play rules would make it impossible for any club to meet Neymar's €222million release clause.

Mascherano has urged the superstar forward to stay with Barca for the new La Liga season.

"In the case of Ney, obviously he is young and I hope he's here with Barcelona for many more years," the Argentina defender said to ESPN.

"He is a really important player for the club. Because of his age, he's the future of the club and we hope we can keep on counting on him.

"He's accustomed to the pressure and people talking. There's always going to be rumours and news around him.

"It's really difficult to give advice. Firstly, I'm not anyone to be giving advice and secondly, I see him really happy here, really happy. [Barca] are a club that have made it possible for him to perform at his best. But after that, each person has to make their own decisions."

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