Mauricio Pochettino Closes Chance Of Neymar Joining Chelsea

Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino. (Photo: Twitter/@ChelseaFC)

JAKARTA Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino, reportedly rejected the move by his team to bring in Neymar. He emphasized that he did not need Neymar as part of the first team this season.

In a recent report, Chelsea is said to have started monitoring Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). This situation was strengthened by the 31-year-old's desire to sell the French giant.

The Brazilian recently reportedly submitted a transfer request as he sought a way out of Les Parisiens this summer. The Blues are also expected to be the next destination.

The Argentine previously coached Neymar at PSG for 18 months. However, British media outlet Evening Standard reported that Pochettino was not interested in having a reunion with the player.

Pochettino's decision made Chelsea withdraw after Neymar.

The request not to reunite with Neymar is clearly quite surprising. The reason is, Pochettino himself had previously praised Neymar when he coached Les Parisiens.

"It's very easy (to work together) with Neymar because you don't have to do too much," Pochettino said of Neymar in 2021, quoted by the Mirror.

"Since the first day, he was very open to working together. He was very humble, he listened and always accepted all instructions in a very good way," he added.

Neymar is expected to be sold for around 60 to 70 million. If it fails to Chelsea, Neymar could have decided to return to his former club Barcelona.

In addition, another possible goal for Neymar is the Saudi Pro League, which has arrived from Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, N'Golo Kante, and Riyad Mahrez this summer.