This archive report was first published on 31 October 2019.
Barcelona's pursuit of Neymar was a long and arduous one, with the club spending the bulk of the last transfer window trying to lure the Brazilian back from Paris St Germain.
As revealed by defender Gerard Pique, the players were so keen to bring Neymar back that they were willing to accept delays to salary payments in order for the club to afford the transfer fee.
The club's efforts were ultimately thwarted by UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations, which oblige clubs to be transparent about revenues and broadly balance them against expenditure.
According to Pique, the players were ready to adjust their contracts to meet the regulations and sign Neymar, even if it meant delaying payments.
‘We told (club president Josep Maria) Bartomeu that if it was necessary to delay payments in our contracts to meet Financial Fair Play regulations and sign Neymar we would do it,’ Pique told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Thursday.
‘We were ready to adjust our contracts. We weren’t going to contribute money, but we were going to make things easier by allowing some payments to be made in the second or third year instead of the first.’
