Neymar will stay with PSG despite Barcelona links – Paredes

Teammate Leandro Paredes does not believe Brazilian superstar Neymar will leave Paris Saint-Germain following the conclusion of the 2019-20 season.

PSG team-mates Leandro Paredes (L) and Neymar (R)

Neymar will still be at Paris Saint-Germain next season, according to teammate Leandro Paredes.

The Brazilian superstar is reportedly a target for Barcelona, who he left for PSG in a world-record €222million transfer in August 2017, and is said to be willing to take a wage cut to make it happen.

Neymar has scored 69 goals in 80 appearances in all competitions for PSG, including one effort in each of the two legs of a Champions League tie with Borussia Dortmund from which it progressed to the quarterfinals of the competition for the first time since 2016.

The Ligue 1 season has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Thomas Tuchel's team crowned champion for the fourth year in a row, and Paredes expects Neymar to still be at the club when the 2020-21 campaign begins.

"Neymar will stay with us," Paredes told FOX Sports Argentina .

"I do not talk about it with him, so he can make his decisions calmly."

Paredes used the Spanish phrase "se queda", which was infamously tweeted by Barcelona captain Gerard Pique shortly before Neymar left for PSG.

Argentina international Paredes struggled to establish himself as a key part of a midfield that is often centred on Marco Verratti.

"At PSG I play with the very best. Verratti is the best midfielder. It's impossible to take the ball from him, he's always going to get away," he said.

"The squad is incredible. I take advantage of it every day in training. The level is very high."