Luis Enrique has no doubt Neymar will sign a new contract with Barcelona and could field the Brazilian in the Copa del Rey second leg against Athletic Bilbao.
Enrique was asked about Neymar at his pre-match Press conference amid on-going murmurs in Spain that Real Madrid will try to convince him to emulate Luis Figo and cross the Clasico divide.
“I think he will sign a new contract, yes. He’s fine. There’s no risk to playing him [against Athletic]. He’s trained and he’s in perfect condition,” Enrique said, AS reports.
“We try to play the same way with him or without him. Obviously other players who can play there are different, but the idea remains the same.”
It’s now 24 games since Barca were beaten but Enrique, who also confirmed Arda Turan, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets have had a fever, isn’t looking past Athletic, despite a League fixture against Atletico Madrid this weekend.
“The only key match is Athletic. Who knows what else will happen, it’s the future and the future is in the air,” he noted.
“The unbeaten run is good, evidence the team is consistent. Everything is still to be decided, in all competitions.
“I do worry about the physical wear, considering Atletico on Saturday. The team looks good, but that’ll be a very intense game.
“There’s no overconfidence. We know the difficulties we’ve had every time we’ve played Athletic. Without the last goal of the first leg it’ll still be an open tie.
“We want to win and be the better team and avoid complications.”
Enrique was asked about a charge against Malaga fans for insulting chants at Iniesta and declined to comment too strongly, but did note it’s not only players targeted.
“I won’t go into this. I condemn any act of violence. But if you could hear what’s said behind me on the bench, you’d think you were hallucinating,” he revealed.
