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Neymar contract renewal up to coaches not finances - Barcelona VP

Neymar's contract renewal is up to the coaching staff and is not a question of club spending limits, said Barcelona's vice president of finance, Susana Monje.

The Brazil forward's current deal with the Catalan club ends in June 2018 and talks over an extension have been ongoing for several months amid rumours that potential suitors such as Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester United could pay his €190 million release clause this summer.

The 24-year-old's former agent, Wagner Ribeiro, said last week that Neymar is happy to stay at Barcelona despite the interest from "three big clubs."

"Neymar's contract renewal is a sporting conversation," Monje told Marca. "Economically, you have all known the margins for some time. We have not studied the impact of a hypothetical loss of Neymar [to Barcelona] because we aren't contemplating that. 

Neymar has hinted that he sees his long-term future at Barcelona and his father, Neymar Sr., had previously alluded to the pending tax fraud case as an obstacle to contract renewal.

However, earlier this month, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed that the tax transfer saga of Neymar's move to the Blaugrana from Santos had been resolved and that Barca had struck an accord to be exonerated of any wrongdoing in the deal by paying a €5.5m fine.

"We have spoken many times about the amount of money that we have to sign him or not sign him," Monje said. "The coaching staff has asked us to make an effort. We know how we have to position ourselves and then, ticket sales are another subject. If we need them, they are always there. But I don't want to speak of specific sums."

"The study that we have done goes beyond just one player. This is an institution with more than 100 years of history, a fan base, and many sources of assets. It is an error to focus on only one player."

Monje made her comments on Tuesday during a news conference to present the club's annual financial impact on the city of Barcelona. She said that the club added €906m to the city's economy in 2014-15, an increase of 19.3 percent over the previous year.

Regarding Barcelona's plans for the summer transfer window, Monje said: "There is more than enough [salary] space to have two or three of the best players in the world and to have 11 to 13 more star players.

"We just have to control [the salaries] and not go over [our spending limit]. Despite the salary considerations, we have room for that. Compared to other clubs, we have very high salary bases [for players], but we have no plans to change that policy."

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