After three months in Brazil, Neymar returned to Paris, ahead of the planned return to training for Paris Saint-Germain on June 22.
PSG has been crowned French champions for the third straight season after the Ligue 1 campaign has been cut short but they are looking to prepare for two domestic cup finals and the Champions League’s eventual return.
After beating Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in the aggregate, Thomas Tuchel ‘s side qualified for the quarter-finals with their 2-0 home victory on March 11 being one of the last top-level games played in Europe before lockdown.
Four days after that game, Neymar traveled home to Brazil as lockdown restrictions were imposed in France. He has now followed PSG’s advice to return to France before June 15, to avoid a potential two-week quarantine. From that date, European countries could review their conditions of entry into the country.
It has been widely reported that Brazil has now passed through the UK to record the world’s second-highest death toll for coronavirus, and arrivals from badly-hit countries are likely to face more stringent restrictions if policy changes are made in France.
PSG has several players from South America in their ranks, many of whom returned home when lockdown started.
Edinson Cavani, Captain Thiago Silva, and Keylor Navas are all expected to return to France before Tuesday, with Marquinhos having already done so.
Despite the league campaign’s frustration being curtailed, PSG is still hoping to win this season a historic quadruple.
They are set to face Saint-Etienne in the final of the Coupe de France and to play Lyon in the Coupe de la Ligue final. At this point, neither match has a confirmed date.
Meanwhile plans to try and finish the Champions League are still being put together. Along with RB Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, and Atalanta, PSG qualified for the quarter-finals.
The remaining last-16 ties are still to be completed between Real Madrid and Manchester City, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, Lyon and Juventus as well as Napoli and Barcelona.
Reports say that the most likely scenario at the moment is for all remaining knockout links to occur in one city to minimize unnecessary travel across the continent.
