Chelsea to join United in Neymar pursuit

Posted Sunday, April 02, 2017 by ESPN

Chelsea to join United in Neymar pursuit
Neymar could be the centre piece at Manchester United or Chelsea after playing second fiddle to Lionel Messi.

Chelsea are set to join Manchester United in the hunt for Barcelona superstar Neymar, with the Brazil international tempted to cash in and become the highest-paid player in the world, according to the Times.

Both Premier League giants could trigger the 25-year-old's £170 million release clause, with the player reportedly demanding an after-tax salary of £21.2m, which would equal around £408,000 per week to move ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the pay charts.

Neymar reportedly finds the prospect of playing with Manchester United or Chelsea appealing, as both can make him the centre piece of their attack, something that has still yet to materialise at Barca given Messi and Luis Suarez's greater importance to the team.

Neymar's recently extended contract from Oct. 2016 is also not a signal of his intent to commit long term to the Camp Nou, according to reports, but rather merely a "sticking plaster" to smooth over tension between the player's management team and the club.