Iniesta: I bet Neymar stays at Barca

FC Barcelona' s Spain international midfielder Andres Iniesta commented on Sunday that he didn' t expect to see the club' s Brazilian striker Neymar accept an offer to join French giants Paris Saint Germain.

The Spanish press has been full of rumors that PSG are willing to meet Neymar' s 190 million euro (210 million US dollar) buyout clause and make him both the most expensive and the best player in the world.

Losing Neymar would be a huge blow to the Spanish league and cup holders, but speaking in an interview with Spanish TV network 'Cuatro' from the training camp of the Spanish national team in France, Iniesta was confident the Brazilian would be going nowhere.

"I would bet on Neymar staying," said the midfielder, who nevertheless accepted that big clubs were interested in the forward.

"I believe that important clubs want to sign him, but I also think that he is happy where he is and my wish is for him to stay with us and for him to play at the same level he' s show in recent seasons," commented Iniesta.

He also discussed Barca and Spain teammate, Gerard Pique, who scored Spain' s winning goal in their opening Euro 2016 match against the Czech Republic. Pique had been booed by Spain fans in recent games, but his goal turned the jeers into cheers to Iniesta' s satisfaction.

"It wasn' t nice for anyone, not for him nor for the team," he said of the boos Pique had received as a result of comments about Real Madrid and of his support for a referendum over Catalan independence.

"I don' t think anyone can ever doubt Pique' s commitment to the national team," said Iniesta, who also praised Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, who most expect to leave his post after the Euros.

"He is doing a fantastic job. I hope everything works out as we want and he feels he can stay on as coach for longer," he concluded. Endit