‘French football needs Neymar’

PARIS: French football “needs” Neymar, according to the country’s federation president Noel Le Graet, who said the Brazilian star “must stay” at Paris Saint-Germain.

Neymar became the world’s most expensive footballer after his transfer to PSG last August from Barcelona for a whopping fee of 222 million euros ($264 million). He won the French player of the year prize this season despite a foot injury meaning he has not featured for the Parisian club since the end of February. There has been constant speculation that the 26-year-old’s stay in the French capital could be a short one, with Real Madrid linked to a move for the Brazilian.PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi has insisted, however, that he was “2,000 percent” sure Neymar would play at PSG next season, something the player himself has yet to confirm.