And still he manages to have tax issues.
In case you were wondering, Neymar is paid lots of money. But in keeping with the, ahem, complex manner of his transfer, the Brazilian superstar is not simply paid a weekly wage.
Well, he is, but it is topped up through a system of bonuses.
He seems happy enough playing up front with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez but, even if he is not, it will cost an awful lot of money to prize him away from the Nou Camp.
Footy Leaks have struck another blow for transparency in football by revealing the staggering amount of money any team will have to pay to trigger Neymar’s release clause.
The website, which has previously revealed details of Ronaldo and Luis Suarez’s contracts, claims that only a fee of €190million can be accepted before he will be allowed depart.
That will not make good reading for Manchester United, or Manchester City, who were both hoping the forward’s tax difficulties in Spain, may have prompted a move north to England.
The 13-page document states the former Santos man was paid a €8.5million signing-on fee by the Catalans, and that if he plays 60 percent of games, Barcelona must pay him an extra him €1.06 million per season on top of his relatively “modest” wage of €5million per campaign.
There are a number of other clauses in the contract that boost his take-home pay to a total of €49million by the end of his current five-year deal.
Rather unusually, the club has also inserted a Catalan clause in his contract.
The Brazilian of course speaks Portuguese, but according to reports, Barcelona demanded the player made the maximum efforts to integrate into the local society around the club, and learn the Catalan language to fully integrate.
Neymar’s bonus for winning various trophies is also explained, as he will receive €637,500 for a La Liga win; €850,000 for a Champions League success and the same amount for a Copa del Rey title.
Winning the treble, as happened last season, netted Neymar an estimated €1.7million.
His contract is due to be renegotiated this summer, and with several clubs sniffing around, the leak might just be a handy way of letting other clubs know just how unobtainable the Brazilian wizard really is.
