Unai Emery insists world record signing Neymar will stay at PSG

Coach plays down speculation that €222m Brazilian star is unhappy at club

Paris St Germain coach Unai Emery shakes hand with Neymar during a training session in Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris on Thursday. Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

Paris St Germain boss Unai Emery insists world record signing Neymar will stay with the French giants.

Speculation surfaced during the international break that the Brazilian is unhappy at the club he joined only in August.

Spanish media widely reported that Neymar told former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique he regretted leaving the Nou Camp.

And Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos told radio station Cadena Ser that Neymar would be welcome at the Bernabeu if he wanted to leave Paris.

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But Emery rejected any suggestion of interest from Real Madrid when speaking on Thursday, saying: “When we took him [from Barcelona] it was with one precise goal, the club and the president want him to stay and he’s going to stay here.”

Emery was speaking at Paris St Germain’s weekly press conference.

Quoted by lequipe.fr, he added: “All footballers are men before being footballers. I speak to Neymar, and it’s that which is more important than rumours.

“Adapting is different for each player and more or less quick. We’re doing everything to help him to adapt as well as possible.

“But the most important thing is the pitch and his performances there.”

Neymar cost PSG a record €222 million when he arrived from Barcelona.

He has scored seven goals in eight Ligue 1 appearances, also setting up five goals, helping his team build an early four-point lead over Monaco at the top of table after 12 rounds of games.