In a statement Thursday, Barcelona announced the fee to trigger Neymar's release clause had been paid by Neymar and his father, making the Brazilian attacker a free agent.
Barcelona's statement in full:
Meet Amine Harit, a French U-20 attacking midfielder who just arrived at Schalke 04 via Nantes for $9.5 million. He's not a global sponsor for Nike, Gillette, Panasonic or Beats by Dre, he's never had his own custom Air Jordan sneakers or been featured on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer, but he remains one of the brightest attacking talents in world football today.
The long-range specialist. No defensive tactic in the world can stop Johnny Howitzer from beaming up that special sauce and unleashing his fury from 30 yards out. Goalkeepers hate them, video editors love them and your parents wish you could be them.
United States U-17 striker Tim Weah has signed his first professional contract with Paris Saint-Germain, a three-year deal that will keep the player at the club until 2020.
Tim, like his older brother George Jr. before him, is scrutinized more than your average footballer by virtue of being the son of George Weah, the 1995 Ballon d’Or winner.
George Weah making Bayern Munich look silly in 1994.... pic.twitter.com/UsH83GbdRK
Suffering from Champions League withdrawal?
It’s been less than a month since Real Madrid thrashed Juventus to claim the crown of top club in Europe, but teams are about to begin the quest to take away that crown.
The first qualifying round for the world’s premier club competition (go away, FIFA Club World Cup, no one cares about you) begins Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mario Balotelli has extended his stay at Nice for another year. Balotelli, whose career briefly went off the rails at Liverpool, has found a productive home in France, and we're delighted that he's staying there. Mario balotelli is very fun, and he makes soccer much more entertaining when he plays.
Nice announced the new deal on Sunday.