I want new Barcelona contract – Neymar
Neymar insists his intention is still to extend his contract with Barcelona, despite having failed to reach an agreement over a renewal to date.
The Brazil international’s father and agent claimed earlier this month that, although talks over a new deal were progressing, Neymar could be forced to leave Spain should a satisfactory resolution not be reached over alleged tax evasion.
A Brazilian court has frozen £31.3million worth of assets belonging to the Barca attacker, his family and related businesses, with the 23-year-old alleged to have evaded £10.5m worth of taxes in Brazil from 2011 to 2013.
Neymar, however, insists he hopes to secure a new deal at Camp Nou, telling the media on Saturday: “I’ve still got years on my contract. My father has already spoken about my future. We’re talking about a renewal because my intention is to do so.”
The former Santos forward scored twice as Barca beat Real Sociedad 4-0, with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi also on the scoresheet.
Head coach Luis Enrique claimed after the match that the trio can only be content when they all hit the back of the net and Neymar admits he was happy to pass up the chance for a hat-trick in order to set up Messi for the final goal.
“It’s true that, at the end, I looked for Leo so he could score his goal. Off the pitch, he helps us a lot. I’m happy when Suarez and Messi score, and they are when I do,” he said.
Neymar added to TV3: “I’m very happy for everything we’re doing. Our team is at a great level.
“I want to help my team-mates and keep scoring goals and giving passes.
“We were hoping that they would press us high. The victory was very important for the difficulties they caused us and we go away very happy.”