Paris Saint-Germain consider shock Barcelona raid to appease Neymar

Neymar is no longer happy with Kylian Mbappe’s role at Paris Saint-Germain and wants the club to use the teenager as a makeweight to sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, claims El Pais.

PSG signed Mbappe from French rivals Monaco in the summer and triggered their right to make the switch permanent in a stunning €180m deal earlier this month after ensuring it was mathematically impossible they could get relegated.

The Ligue 1 giants made Neymar the most expensive player of all-time earlier that summer but the Brazil international is concerned that Mbappe could scupper his chances of being crowned the best player in the world in the future.

Things are so extreme that it is even being suggested that Neymar refuses to pass to Mbappe if it would create a goalscoring opportunity for the Frenchman, instead opting to go solo or passing to another team-mate.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has reportedly even received the idea of using Mbappe in a deal to convince Barcelona to part ways with Coutinho in the summer in order to ensure Neymar’s long-term future at the club.

Coutinho, who is best friends with Neymar, only joined Barcelona in January in a deal worth £142m and the 25-year-old has made a slow start to life at the Camp Nou.

While it seems unthinkable that something like this could materialise, PSG know they are capable of pulling off shock transfers after managing to prise Neymar away from Barcelona in the first place.

Mbappe netted his 10th league goal of the campaign in PSG’s 3-0 over Marseille on Sunday night, meaning the Ligue 1 leaders are the only team in Europe’s top five leagues to have three players on 10+ goals.