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Neymar to travel for World Cup qualifying despite injury
SAO PAULO โ Neymar will come to South America for World Cup qualifying matches despite a groin injury he picked up in a Champions League match for Paris Saint-Germain. Brazil coach Tite called Flamengo striker Pedro for the matches against Venezuela and Uruguay on Nov. 13 and 17, without removing Neymar from the squad. โWe will follow his development closely.โPSG coach Thomas Tuchel said last week it would be โimpossibleโ for Neymar to play for Brazil as he recovered from the injury. Brazil has already lost four players for the two clashes, including three due to injury โ midfielders Philippe Coutinho and Fabinho, and defender Rodrigo Caio. Brazil and Argentina lead the South American qualifying group with two wins from two matches.
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Spanish league forced to deal with another star departing
Barcelona's Lionel Messi leaves the pitch after the the Champions League quarterfinal soccer match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Lisbon, Portugal, Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. The Spanish league is about to see another top player leave one of its clubs, all within a four-year span. The league wasnt hugely affected financially after Neymar left Barcelona or Ronaldo left Real Madrid. The league still benefited from Messis presence after Ronaldo left, but now it wouldn't have that same star power anymore. Since Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, Spain gained few top-notch players.
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Neymar loses lawsuit over signing bonus with Barcelona
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)BARCELONA A Spanish court has ruled in favor of Barcelona in a dispute with former player Neymar over a signing bonus paid in part to the Brazil striker before he left for Paris Saint-Germain. The court on Friday rejected Neymars suit that Barcelona owed him 43 million euros ($48 million) from part of a signing bonus that it never paid the player. The court ruled instead that Neymar must pay Barcelona 6.7 million euros ($7.5 million), corresponding to part of the signing bonus it had already paid to the player. Barcelona and then player Neymar agreed to a new contact in 2016, which included a signing bonus of 64 million euros. The club paid the player 22.5 million euros in July 2016 and was supposed to pay him the remaining 43 million euros by July 2017.