Barcelona could have resigned Neymar but chose Griezmann instead

Eric Abidal, Barcelona’s Sporting Director until 2020, has revealed that he had an opportunity to resign Neymar in 2019. However, the board at the time decided against it and went for Antoine Griezmann instead.

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Griezmann made huge waves with his big-money move but failed to create a lasting impression. The Frenchman certainly has his moments but none that justify his huge paycheque. Ever since Neymar’s departure for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, fans have been vying for his comeback and now Abidal claims this had been possible while he was still at Barca.

Abidal talks about Barcelona’s lost Neymar opportunity

In a tell-all interview with the Telegraph, Abidal opens up about the possibility of Neymar’s return amongst other things, and how Griezmann’s signing hindered the Brazilians return, as well the pending court case Neymar had at the time, against the Spanish giants.

"“I think if the CEO goes to Paris Saint-Germain, it’s because we can sign him. If we didn’t sign Griezmann before, I think 100 per cent we could have re-signed Neymar because what we needed was a winger and when Neymar was in Barcelona he was amazing.”“This is not about which player is better, it was what I thought was the position we needed at the time. The team needed a real winger. The president decided to sign Griezmann.”“One of the arguments against Neymar was that he had a court case against the club, so it’s not easy. They said he would have to stop the court process if he wanted to come back. That wasn’t my problem because I was not at the club when that dispute happened. In my view, I could sign the player, but it didn’t happen.”Source: Goal"

Whether or not the Frenchman would have convinced the winger is now a moot point, however, if PSG manage to sign Lionel Messi in the summer, there will be a Leo-Neymar in the future for the fans. Neymar’s return to Camp Nou certainly doesn’t seem on the books in the near future.

Was Griezmann the right choice for Barca?