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What's the story?
According to the Spanish media outlet Don Balon, Florentino Perez's desire to bring Paris Saint-Germain's star Neymar to Real Madrid can propel the French club to look for other targets like Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho as replacements for the Brazilian.
In case you didn't know..
Philippe Coutinho arrived at FC Barcelona from Liverpool in January last year with huge expectations, as he became their most expensive signing in history.
The Brazilian midfielder has 8 goals and 5 assists to his name in all competitions this season, but he is yet to fully integrate into the Barcelona side this season and is going through a rough patch.
Meanwhile, Neymar was on a sensational run of form before he got injured. He scored 13 goals and provided 6 assists in the Ligue 1 while scoring 5 goals and racking up 2 assists in the Champions League against the likes of Napoli, Liverpool and Red Star Belgrade.
Antoine Griezmann is the talisman leading Atletico Madrid's forward line. He has scored 11 goals in the La Liga while providing 7 assists and already scored 4 goals in the UEFA Champions League.
The heart of the matter
Florentino Perez's desire to bring Neymar to Real Madrid is well known, which is why Paris Saint-Germain are looking into Griezmann and Coutinho as possible options strengthen the team in case Neymar quits.
Griezmann was close to leaving Atletico Madrid and joining Barcelona last summer; he is the chief target for Pairs Saint-Germain to replace their talisman. According to the report, Neymar has made it clear with the club's hierarchy that he wiants to leave the club if they fail to win the Champions League.
Rumour rating: 5/10
Los Blancos are determined to bring reinforcements in the summer which can pave the way for Neymar to arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu.
What's next?
Thomas Tuchel's Paris Saint-Germain are dominating for the Ligue 1 title, but their focus is on conquering Europe. Unfortunately, they will face Manchester United in the knockout rounds of the Champions League without starlets Neymar and Edinson Cavani due to injury.
On the other hand, Los Blancos will be happy with last night's 3-1 win against their bitter rivals Atletico Madrid which took them to the 2nd spot in the La Liga. They will face Ajax in the next rounds of the Champions League.
