Former Barcelona captain, Xavi Hernandez, has admitted that nobody expected Neymar to leave the club for Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazil international sealed a move to Ligue 1 last week, after PSG smashed the world transfer record by activating a €222million release clause in his contract.
Xavi, who spent two years as Neymar’s team-mate at Camp Nou, has described the move as “bizarre”.
“It was his decision and you have to respect it.
It’s a personal choice. Players today move to where they’re wanted the most,” Xavi told Le Parisien.
“But nobody could have imagined that he’d leave Barca.
“It’s bizarre that a player doesn’t want to stay at Barca. It’s very rare. It’s been 17 years since Luis Figo left for Real Madrid. As with Ney, it was his choice at the time.
“I don’t know how it happened, if there were meetings, conversations… there are many interpretations of this record transfer.
“I understand the Blaugrana fans are upset because Neymar gave no explanation. He left Barca without a press conference or anything… but hey, that’s how it is.
“We’ll see what he can give to PSG. What I’m sure of is that Barca did not expect a club to pay the €222m release clause. Now they have to manage that money.”