Manchester City rejected the chance to sign Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar in the final days of the transfer window, reports say.
According to Spanish outlet Marca, the Brazilian was offered to the Premier League champions as PSG looked to offload him in an effort to prevent further unrest in the dressing room.
Tension between Neymar and Kylian Mbappe have been reported of late, with the pair appearing to argue over who took a penalty during PSG’s 5-2 win over Montpellier last month.
The report claims that the French side offered Neymar to City, but that the Citizens declined the proposal, stating clearly that they had no intentions of signing the ex-Barcelona man.
Neymar, 30, has started the season in sensational form for the Ligue 1 champions, scoring nine goals and providing six assists in six matches so far.
Neymar was offered to Manchester City
Earlier in the window, the forward was linked with a move to Chelsea, with a reunion with Thomas Tuchel potentially on the cards.
Speculation surrounding that proposed move cooled, but it was reported by several outlets on deadline day that there had once again been contact between the two parties.
Neymar is currently part of a superstar front three in Paris, alongside Mbappe and Lionel Messi. Between them, the trio scored 63 goals and provided 49 assists across all competitions last season.
City signed Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips and Sergio Gomez this summer, and were also buoyed by the arrival of Julian Alvarez, who signed for the club in January but spent the last six months on loan at former side River Plate.
Haaland has made an instant impact on English football, scoring nine times in his first five matches for City, including hat tricks against both Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.