Paris Saint-Germain crashed out of the Champions League semi-final at the hands of Manchester City last night, losing 2-0 to Pep Guardiola’s side on the night and 4-1 on aggregate. The French press, in the aftermath, has railed against Neymar, who they’ve labelled unbearable and self-centred according to Diario AS. The Brazilian was signed to help take PSG to the next level in Europe, something that hasn’t happened.
Neymar’s contract comes to an end in 2022, and while negotiations for an extension are mid-process, Barcelona believe that there’s a chance they could make his long-mooted return happen. Joan Laporta believes that signing Neymar would increase the brand value of Barcelona, raise the level of Ronald Koeman’s squad and satisfy Lionel Messi, who’s been open about his desire to be re-united with the Brazilian.
Barcelona believe that, if they’re clever with sales, they could have €100m free to use for signings. That’s not to say his return will be easy to make happen. PSG are a proud club and they won’t make it easy for him to leave, especially if Kylian Mbappe joins Real Madrid. There’s also the fact that a lot of Barcelona supporters still find the manner of his departure from Catalonia in the summer of 2017 unforgivable. Either way, it’s a debate, and a saga, that’s set to rumble on for a while yet.
