Neymar hit the red carpet in Shanghai on Monday as speculation mounted that the Brazil star could be set to quit Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain for a woorld-record 222 million euros The 25-year-old striker is at the centre of an apparent tug of war between the two European giants in what would be the most expensive transfer fee in football history.
A training spat with new Barcelona signing Nelson Semedo during a pre-season tour in Miami ramped up chatter that Neymar could be about to swap Spain for the French capital. Neymar, who has remained tight-lipped about the transfer rumours, posted a message for Chinese fans on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, after arriving for a promotional visit.
"Ni Hao China! I'm Neymar Jr. and I've just arrived in China," he wrote. "I'm in Shanghai at the moment. I would like to send a huge hug to all my Chinese fans, thank you very much for your support." He later posed for a scrum of photographers and television journalists and answered questions about fashion, before attending an evening event for a clothing brand.