Football
ESPN 6y

Neymar: I am staying at Paris Saint-Germain and want to win with them

Neymar has told ESPN Brasil he will stay at Paris Saint-Germain amid continuing speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid.

Brazil star Neymar, who moved to PSG from Barcelona for a world-record fee of €222 million last summer, is reported to be a long term target for Madrid president Florentino Perez.

But he said he was targeting more trophies with the Ligue 1 champions and described speculation about his future as "invented."

"Yes, I will stay in Paris. I have a contract with PSG. The speculation? The majority of it is invented by the press," he said.

"I have a contract and people know the objective, the reason why I went to PSG. I want to win with this club and I hope this season will be wonderful."

Earlier this month, Madrid issued a statement denying that they were interested in making a move for Neymar.

Meanwhile, Neymar said Brazil's elimination from the World Cup against Belgium had been hard for him to take.

"My sorrow was big, it was a very tough sadness -- the biggest I have had in my career. It has passed now, though," he said.

"Now I have to think ahead, rest, and appreciate the time with my family, my girlfriend and do the things that make me happy.

"We take positive things from the World Cup. Of course the sadness is much greater because we knew we had the team and quality players [to win]. But for things that happens in football, we could not."

Addressing criticism that he had been guilty of diving during the tournament, Neymar said he would not change the way he played and was fouled "all the time."

"As for what they said about me, I have to take it playfully," he added. "I have always been like this, an athlete who always took things well.

"The way I play is always the same. It was not today that I started to be targeted. I started aged 17, suffering many fouls, many hard tackles. It is part of the game. My football is about dribbling and beating the opponent. I cannot say to him: 'Just let me score.'

"Do you think I want to suffer fouls all the time? No -- it hurt. After the games, I get ice for hours. Whoever does not understand this and has not lived this will never understand it."

Neymar also hailed the arrival of Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus from Real Madrid, saying it "will change Italian football."

"Cristiano is a great player. He is a football legend, a genius," he said. "We have to respect him. I think that it was a difficult decision for him, but I wish him good luck -- except against PSG."

^ Back to Top ^