Real Madrid want PSG assurances regarding injury-prone Neymar before pursuing deal – report

Real Madrid's interest in securing a deal to take Neymar to the Santiago Bernebeu hinges on the club being given assurances over foot injuries which have been troubling the Brazilian in recent months, reports in the press suggest.

Spain's Marca says that Zinedine Zidane's team have assembled a detailed dossier on Neymar's injury history as they reportedly consider a bid to return the world's most expensive player to Spain from under the noses of rivals Barcelona, but it appears that any deal will be contingent on the Madrid hierarchy being content with the player's extensive injury history.

Neymar was absent from Brazil's victorious Copa America campaign this summer, after picking up an injury playing for his national team in a friendly with Qatar prior to the South American flagship tournament.

He has since returned to full training from this injury but hasn't featured in PSG's two Ligue 1 games so far this season and, ahead of the European transfer window slamming shut on September 2, Real Madrid and Barcelona continue to weigh up their options regarding a bid.

Various injury issues have afflicted Neymar in recent seasons including a fractured metatarsal in early 2018, a foot injury last January which ruled him out of 16 games for Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the aforementioned ankle ligament issue which cost him his participation in the Copa America.

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Reports state that Real Madrid's wage budget is less restrictive than that of Barcelona's, even after the high profile additions of Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic to the club in the summer months; however, PSG's insistence on receiving a fee in excess of the world record sum they paid Barcelona for him two years ago could be a sticking point in any deal.

However, the addition of Neymar to either team's squad would bring with it a boost in sponsorship revenue while AS reports that Real Madrid would also receive 50 percent of his image rights.

Speculation mounted recently when Neymar's father followed Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos on social media but privately the club is said to be hesitant on entering a public bidding war with Barcelona to secure the player's services, in the hopes of avoiding the public relations embarrassment of the player potentially opting to join Barcelona instead.