Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have finally entered face-to-face negotiations for the transfer of Neymar, Goal can confirm, but an agreement remains a distant prospect as neither side are currently happy with the proposals on the table.
Barca officials Javier Bordas, Eric Abidal and Andre Cury travelled to Paris on Tuesday to begin the aforementioned talks, but the Blaugrana's offer and PSG's demands vary wildly, meaning concessions will have to be made if a deal is to happen.
It is no secret that the Liga champions are keen to get Philippe Coutinho's wages off the books, with the Brazilian having also been offered to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, and it is understood that PSG are open to bringing the former Liverpool man on board.
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Ivan Rakitic has also been offered as part of the deal to bring Neymar back to Camp Nou, but the Ligue 1 champions are standing firm in their wish for Nelson Semedo to be included as part of any potential agreement.
PSG also want a cash lump sum in addition to those players, but Barca not only do not want to part ways with Semedo, they also do not want to fork out a large one-off payment in their attempts to recover their former star.
In that sense, both of the European giants remain far away from each other in terms of reaching an agreement that suits everyone, but Barca can take heart in the fact that the Parisians are now willing to let Neymar go after repeatedly insisting otherwise earlier this summer.
Blaugrana president Josep Maria Bartomeu is the figure who remains most convinced that deal can be agreed and the next step in talks could take place in Liverpool next Friday when Bartomeu will have the chance to speak to Nasser Al-Khelaifi, PSG's president, at an ECA meeting.
Barca can also take heart in the fact that both the French and Spanish transfer windows do not close until September 2, meaning they still have three weeks to wrap things up and conclude a transfer saga that has dragged on all summer long.
The Liga champions kick off their title defence with a trip to Athletic Bilbao on Friday, while PSG began their domestic campaign with a 3-0 victory over Nimes on Sunday.