Paris Saint Germain’s newest star, Neymar, says he felt no obligation to remain with Barcelona and that the prospect of embarking on a new challenge was too much to resist while contemplating his future in the days leading up to his transfer to the French capital.

The Brazilian began a new chapter in his illustrious career with his unveiling to the media Friday, alongside club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, after PSG secured his services for a world-record fee of €222 million.

The motive behind the switch was the primary focus as the media searched for an explanation as to why Neymar would spearhead a transfer away from one of the biggest club’s in the world.

Speculation that joining PSG was fueled by greed or an eagerness to escape Lionel Messi’s shadow were rejected by Neymar, who declared that a desire to take on new challenges convinced him to end his four-year stay in Barcelona.

Related: Winners and losers from Neymar’s world-record move to PSG

“This was about ambition,” Neymar confessed, courtesy of the BBC. “I wanted a bigger challenge, and my heart made this decision and I followed my heart. I want to help this club achieve and win trophies.”

He rejected the notion that Messi’s influence at Barca, as well as his status as arguably the world’s best player, had impact on his decision to leave.

“No, quite on the contrary,” he responded when asked about moving out of Messi’s shadow.

“One of my motivations to play for Barcelona was to play alongside Lionel Messi, he was my role model.

Related – Watch: Neymar gets raucous welcome from jubilant PSG fans

“There was no pressure at all there, only during the first week at Barcelona where I was nervous to train with my role models.

“But after that first week, I was relaxed and to play with the best is very easy because every player wants to play with the best in the world to win titles together.”

Al-Khelaifi was adamant that the extravagant price paid to Barcelona was a worthy investment, as Neymar’s value, along with the club’s, would skyrocket in the coming years. In fact, Neymar’s arrivals has already boosted the value of the club.

“Before Neymar the value of the club was $1 billion, now it is $1.5 billion,” he said.

Related – Timeline: How PSG pulled off the most expensive transfer in history

While PSG is already considered one of the world’s finest following the injection of money when a Qatari investment company became the majority stakeholder in 2012, football’s most coveted prize, the UEFA Champions League, has eluded the six-time Ligue 1 champion.

However, the club’s failure in the competition, including last season’s humiliating elimination at the hands of the Brazilian and Barcelona, is a challenge Neymar revealed that he was eager to accept.

“I want to write history at PSG, this is the only reason,” Neymar said. “There are new challenges and I want to help write history. Our biggest challenge is the Champions League, but want all the trophies.”

Al-Khelaifi echoed his sentiment, and clarified reports suggesting Neymar paid the €222-million buyout clause rather than PSG: “Our ambition is to win the Champions League, that is always there. We want to win the maximum trophies we can. It is our dream and we will fight for it. The players need to enjoy it.

“We paid the buyout clause, not Neymar.”

Al-Khelaifi also revealed that the French side is in the process of working with the European governing body, to ensure all aspects of the transfer agreement are transparent.

Meanwhile, Neymar has come under intense criticism from the Barcelona faithful, who have deemed him a traitor and have drawn parrallels with Luis Figo, who famously departed the Catalans in favour of joining rivals Real Madrid in 2000.

He reaffirmed his appreciation for the support during his four years at the Camp Nou, but explained that he was not abandoning the team and that it was his right to pursue other opportunities.

Related – Neymar bids Barcelona farewell, asks for father’s blessing

“I have done nothing bad. I am sad about the fact that the fans think that. I hope it is only a minority. I never lacked respect to the fans and I think every player should be allowed to stay or leave a club,” he said.

“You are not obligated to remain at a club, if you wish to leave then the player has that right.

“Once again, I want to thank the fans, the club, the players.”

Neymar added that he’s prepared to feature in his new team’s Ligue 1 opener against Amiens on Saturday, but PSG has yet to confirm whether he will be available for selection.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

Jay Cutler is leaning toward staying in broadcasting and not joining the Miami Dolphins, sources close to the situation told ESPN on Saturday.

Although Cutler became intrigued by the possibility of reuniting with Dolphins coach Adam Gase in the immediate wake of Ryan Tannehill’s knee injury, his continued contemplation is swaying him back in the direction of staying retired, sources told ESPN.

• Jay Cutler and Adam Gase worked well together in Chicago, says Bears OL Kyle Long, and that would make a reunion in Miami possible.

Tannehill suffered a left knee injury in Thursday’s scrimmage that may require season-ending surgery.

Until Saturday, Cutler had been in direct contact with Gase, giving a clear sense of his interest in playing for him, according to sources. The more Cutler considers it, however, the more he questions whether a return to football is what he wants, sources said.

One source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Cutler is “really struggling to leave his family.”

Should Tannehill need surgery, Gase could go into a more passionate sales-pitch mode to pull Cutler back into the mix. Barring such a scenario, the Dolphins will likely need to start looking in a different place — or settle on backup Matt Moore — to handle their starting quarterback duties.

Paris Saint-Germain’s €222-million transaction for Neymar triggered a stern response from international footballers’ union FIFPro, which called on the European Commission to revamp the “unjustified and illegal” transfer system.

Having already lodged a legal complaint to the European Union in 2015, FIFPro again demanded action on Friday from authorities.

General secretary Theo van Seggelen – who has lobbied for the abolition of transfer fees, restrictions on squad sizes, and caps on payments to agents – denounced the disproportion of wealth in the game.

“The world-record transfer of Brazilian Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain is the latest example of how football is ever more the domain of a select group of rich, mostly European-based clubs,” Seggelen said in a statement.

Related – Football’s cash obsession: How to fix the inflated transfer system

“Given much of football’s transfer activity occurs within Europe, where significant transfer fees are exchanged between clubs, FIFPro is asking the European Commission to launch a thorough investigation of the transfer rules it approved in 2001 and which are now in need of urgent review.”

Only 14.4 percent of the 14,591 international transfers in 2016 fetched a transfer fee, according to a FIFA press release, emphasising just how exclusive the transfer market is.

Neymar’s transfer came at more than double the cost of the previous world-record outlay for a footballer, set by Manchester United last year when it signed Paul Pogba for €105 million.

Booming television revenue and inflated sponsorship agreements have armed the biggest clubs with the financial power to spend more and more, but it’s a reality FIFPro hopes to end.

“FIFPro claims an inflated and distorted market, with escalating transfer fees at the heart of it, has helped to destroy competitive balance,” Seggelen added. “The transfer rules governed by FIFA are anti-competitive, unjustified, and illegal.”

RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett came off the PUP list Friday and is on track to be ready for the start of the regular season.

“I’m pretty much ready to go,” Lockett said. “If we had a game tomorrow, I’d play in it.”

Lockett suffered fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg in December. He underwent surgery and spent Christmas and New Year’s in the hospital.

Lockett spent the entire offseason in Seattle rehabbing and said he’s been running for the last three months. He didn’t participate in all aspects of Friday’s practice but has no doubts about being ready for Week 1.

“One of the things that I thought about was when I was a kid, I had a dog,” Lockett said. “When you train him, you’ve got to keep him in a little cage. I felt like I was stuck in a cage for eight months after I broke my leg. So as soon as they let me go today, I didn’t know what to do. So I was just running around, having fun, being a little kid again.”

Lockett caught 41 balls for 597 yards in 15 games last season, but he was playing at less than 100 percent for much of the year because of a knee injury suffered early in the season. He’s expected to compete for a starting job in 2017.