Neymar is leaving, Barcelona says; radio says moving to PSG

Brazilian striker Neymar Jr is leaving FC Barcelona, the Catalan club confirmed on Wednesday, as a radio report said he was moving to French team Paris Saint-Germain.

He arrived at the team's training ground on Wednesday to tell team mates he was moving to Paris, Catalan radio RAC1 reported. The Brazilian striker left the training area minutes later, it said.

Having matured into one of the finest players in the world and finished third in the 2015 Ballon d’Or vote, Neymar signed a new Barcelona contract to 2021 in October in which his buy-out clause was raised to 222 million euros (USD 263 million).

Barcelona tweeted shortly after the radio report that Neymar, who has been with the Spanish club since June 2013, did not train on Wednesday with the permission of the coach.

In another twitter posting restricted to the sports press, the club said he was leaving but gave no further details. That tweet was confirmed to Reuters by a spokeswomen.

A PSG spokesman declined to comment.

Neymar signed for Barcelona from Brazilian side Santos for 57.1 million euros, although it was later revealed the cost was closer to 100 million euros.