Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels financial reward or the desire to become a central figure encouraged star striker Neymar to leave Barcelona and join Paris Saint Germain (PSG).
The 25-year-old was brought by the PSG for a whopping amount of 222 million Euros. The five-year deal for the Brazilian smashed the previous record set when Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United from Juventus for 89 million Euros in August 2016.
Wenger said that the Neymar never expressed exactly in his statement the reasons of his move as there is always a huge desire for the players to play with the best players.
"He decided to go the other way, so that is. for financial reasons, or for reasons that he thinks Paris Saint-Germain is tomorrow's club and will take over from Real Madrid and Barcelona," goal.com quoted Wenger as saying.
"Or maybe for individual reasons, such as maybe he wants to become the player that the team turns around, and to be acknowledged as the best player in the world," he added.
Neymar, in his statement after joining the PSG, had said, "I am extremely happy to join Paris Saint-Germain. Since I arrived in Europe, the club has always been one of the most competitive and most ambitious."
"And the biggest challenge, what most motivated me to join my new teammates is to help the club to conquer the titles that their fans want. Paris Saint-Germain's ambition attracted me to the club, along with the passion and the energy this brings. I played 4 seasons in Europe and I feel ready to take the challenge."
More From This Section
Neymar, who joined Barcelona in 2013 has scored 105 goals for the club, guiding them to two league titles, three Copa del Rey and a Champions League crown.
His best goal-scoring season came in 2014-15, when he netted 39 times in helping Barca to the treble under Luis Enrique.