The Neymar transfer saga is heading down the final stretch. According to Sky Sports' Gianluca Di Marzio on Thursday, PSG and Barcelona reached an agreement on a deal that will send Neymar back to Spain. Sky Sports reported on Saturday that Neymar had offered to give PSG $22 million back to facilitate the move before reporting later in the day that Neymar has ultimately decided to stay in France.
PSG reportedly held talks with Barcelona to discuss a potential transfer for the Brazilian superstar on Tuesday and Wednesday and he appeared as close as ever to rejoining the Spanish club. The holdup was simply coming to terms on compensation.
As those negotiations continued, Sport reported the players discussed in a potential swap move were: Ousmane Dembele on loan, Ivan Rakitic transferred to PSG and Barca paying $138 million to get Neymar. It remains to be seen if that was indeed the deal that was reportedly agreed upon on Thursday by the two sides.
According to Le Parisien, PSG was willing to sell Neymar to Barca for $111 million plus Ousmane Dembele and Nelson Semedo, though it appeared Barca had only gone as far as to offer Dembele on loan and not as a complete transfer sale.
The transfer window closes on Sept. 2. PSG takes on Metz on Friday at 2:45 p.m. ET, while Barca faces Osasuna on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET -- you can stream both matches via fuboTV (Try for free).
Numerous PSG supporters have already expressed their displeasure with Neymar still being at the club, but PSG is going through some tough injury issues. Kylian Mbappe is out for a month, and Edinson Cavani is still three weeks away from returning, leaving the club thin in attack. Barca has its own injury issues, with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Dembele all hurt. Those injuries, one would assume, add to the urgency to getting a deal done for the reigning La Liga champs.
With says left to get a deal done, anything could happen. Stay connected to CBSSports.com for the latest on the Neymar transfer saga.