It wouldn’t be a transfer season without the annual rumors linking Neymar with a return to Barcelona. Despite talks between Neymar and PSG progressing, the player has recently stopped talks as he believes a reunion with his former club could be possible given the election of Joan Laporta.
While Barcelona is currently prioritizing other signings, the club is studying a potential reunion between the two sides.
Neymar has stalled renewal talks at PSG as he dreams of a Barcelona return.
According to Sport, the Catalans are weighing two options that would lead to the return of the Brazilian star. One option is to wait until next season when his contract at PSG is over and he will be a free agent.
The other would see him come back next season with a potential deal involving a player going the other way. In this case, that player would either be Antoine Griezmann or Ousmane Dembélé.
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Even with the arrival of Ronald Koeman, the manager still has not found the best fit on the pitch to maximize Griezmann’s abilities. Because of that, Barcelona would be willing to hear offers on Griezmann who only joined a season ago.
The situation with Dembélé is different given how well he’s performed this season. A season in which he has managed to stay relatively healthy. He’s been important as evidenced by his goal in Barcelona’s 1-0 win against Real Valladolid that put the club only one point behind Atletico Madrid in the LaLiga standings.
But his contract ends in June 2022. While Barca would like to extend his deal, they are uncertain as to whether or not a deal could be reached. There are teams interested in Dembélé and the club would rather sell him this summer if a deal can’t be reached rather than risk losing him on a free.
Neymar has wanted a move back since he left in 2017. PSG paid €222 million to sign him with the hope that he would lead them to Champions League glory. The best he’s been able to do is get them to the final last season, which they lost against Bayern Munich.
Barcelona are not in a position where they can afford to pay a fee for Neymar as their main target for the offseason is a striker. If Neymar is desperate to come back to Camp Nou, he is going to have to wait until next season or simply sign an extension with PSG.