In the age of 24-hour football coverage around the globe there still exists a curtain between clubs and players and the journalists assigned to cover them as Neymar's current situation highlights only too well.

Speculation is constantly rife about the Brazilian and his future and the latest news coming from the superstar's camp shows how hype and whispers can make headlines even when they could not be further from the truth.

Despite being a hero and one of the best paid players at Camp Nou with the world at his feet while playing in a side that challenges on all fronts, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior is still linked with a move away from the Blaugrana. Manchester City and Manchester United have been the latest two outfits to have had their names added to the list of those that could be destinations should, unthinkably at his stage, Barça choose to cash in on their forward.

Ludicrous sums have been mentioned regarding the offers ready to be made, reaching as high as €200 million in some reports, but an eerie silence by those actually in the know has not helped calm the waters.

Now it seems someone may have found out the truth so the long-running stories of bids being made to try and tempt the player and twist Barcelona's arm have been made redundant.

Reporter André Plihal at ESPN Brasil has revealed that the player actually agreed a new contract with the Catalan giants during the World Club Cup in Japan back in December.

Nothing could be stated publicly due to the judicial proceedings against the player and, more confusingly, commercial commitments that he has.

The new deal, if indeed it is true, is to run until 2021, three more years than Neymar has on his current contract at FC Barcelona and will no doubt see his income rise and his buy-out clause.

With his hands perhaps tied, Neymar's father, has been limited to stating that his offspring is happy at Camp Nou and that the club's supporters should not worry that he is about to leave at the first opportunity.

Journalists and the media cannot be blamed, however, for speculating on the player's future when his agent, Wagner Ribeiro, makes statements such as the outburst in September when he recommended that Real Madrid would be a good place for Neymar to play.

Stories are also produced when clubs leak links to players that they would like sign and agents inform favoured reporters that something could be happening to a client that they would like to move on or that is looking for a new deal from his current club.

“Other offers are coming in again, but Barça are gearing up to be able to reject and avoid them," Neymar Senior stated this week, once again adding fuel to the fire that constant interest in his son could be the reason for the ever-present transfer tittle tattle and rumours.

One must remember that Neymar is still only 24 and only halfway through his third campaign with Barça, since joining them in 2013 from Santos.

That transfer has also made for weekly headlines as investigations go on into various aspects of it, but as the cliché goes 'all publicity is good publicity' and the player's name and brand is fast heading towards the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Everybody loves a transfer story, but some are more believable than others and the thought that Neymar would leave Barcelona any time soon is one that is met with some derision by nearly everyone I speak to that covers Spanish football.

His partnership with Messi and Luis Suárez is renowned and has not only brought him silverware and a place at the Ballon d'Or podium, but also a great friendship with his two strike partners along with adulation from football supporters of the Blaugrana or not.

Barça are rarely a selling club and only allow stars to leave if they are aware that they are past their best or that they have something better already at the club or a player ready to be signed.

Manchester City may have Pep Guardiola arriving in the summer and lists of ideal line-ups and signings have been made by almost every media outlet, but even they do not have the pulling power to seduce the likes of Neymar nor Messi as yet.

The curtain between the media and clubs and players will remain, but it is the duty of both sides to ensure that in the modern era any speculation that is blatantly untrue is denied, if only to save us all from the soap opera of a transfer that will never be.