Paris Saint-Germain Football Advisor Luis Campos says that Neymar Jr. was never for sale and that he hopes Lionel Messi matches his own three-year stay at the Parc des Princes.
Campos was the mastermind behind player recruitment that helped AS Monaco to the Ligue 1 Uber Eats title in 2017 and LOSC in 2021, and was recruited by PSG president Nasser al-Khelaïfi in June.
Campos's role in Paris sees him focus on "the performance, recruitment, and organisational side," of the club. Selling Neymar was never part of the plan.
Campos: 'Ney never close to leaving'
"Neymar was never close to leaving PSG," Campo told Jérôme Rothen on the former Paris midfielder's new show on RMC. "Rumours on Neymar this summer were completely fake - also, saying that [Kylian] Mbappé wanted Ney to be sold is another big fake news.
"Neymar is 100 per cent part of our project."
Neymar has made an electric start to the season, his eight goals and six assists in Ligue 1 Uber Eats plundered at a rate of one every 38 minutes he has played.
There had been question marks over how Mauricio Pochettino's successor as coach Christophe Galtier might get then best out of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappé, but the former LOSC man - whom Campos "called before [his] own family" - has found a way.
MNM thriving
Playing a 3-4-1-2 system, all three can thrive in the final third with good balance and plenty of cover behind them. Messi, who is out of contract next summer, has contributed three goals and seven assists, and Campos wants him to extend.
"I asked Messi if he wanted to stay and I told him that I hope that he will stay here during my tenure here," he said. "I'm very satisfied with Leo."
MNM and Co. are next in action at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday night, where a victory will take them top of the table irrespective of other results this weekend.
