Superstar Lionel Messi is not at all optimistic about Barcelona’s chances of attempting to dangle carrots in front of Neymar to lure his former strike partner back to the Camp Nou from Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazilian forward swapped Barcelona for Paris in 2017, becoming the most expensive player of all-time after the Ligue 1 giants activated a £199.5million release clause in his contract.
News has been rife of Neymar being heavily linked with a return to the club ever since, and Messi’s unease at Barcelona has also given rise to rampant speculation that he is also angling for a move out. The Barcelona talisman is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with non-Spanish clubs from January 1st although on the surface it appears that the Argentine has seemingly settled his dispute at the Camp Nou and is thought by some to extend his deal.
The return of Neymar to the club would certainly help convince Messi to stay but the Argentina captain says the financial situation at the Camp Nou will make any transfer impossible.
‘How do you pay Paris for the transfer?’ Messi asked.
‘It is not easy, it will be a difficult situation for the new president. He will have to be very intelligent, get everything in order and make many changes to make it go well.
‘It will also be difficult to bring in players because we need money and there is no money. There are several important current players we need to fight again for everything and you have to pay them.’
Neymar had expressed last month that he wished to play with Messi again, with no clarification of where that would happen, in Paris or Barcelona. Messi was also cautiously coy about Neymar’s comments, insisting that it was only a declaration of his desire rather than a plan.
‘He didn’t say, ‘Let’s play,’ he said, ‘I’d like to play’ … right?’ said Messi.
‘Yes, we talk from time to time. The three of us either with him or with Luis [Suarez] every day. We maintain the relationship.’
Whatever real game plan Messi and his bosom buddy Neymar have up their sleeves, only time soon will tell. Until then, it’s still everybody’s wild conjecture where these two would finally end up next season.