Lionel Messi is keen to welcome Neymar back to Barcelona and is playing a key role in his potential return, according to The Independent. Neymar left the Nou Camp in 2017 for a world record fee of £200m in a move that sent shockwaves around world football as Barcelona lost one of their main men.
At the time, Neymar was keen to escape Barcelona in an attempt to win individual awards and potentially usurp Cristiano Ronaldo and his former teammate Messi as the world’s best players. However, with Neymar now not even making the three-man shortlist for FIFA’s ‘The Best’ award, he is unhappy at the club.
In the world’s media, Neymar and the French league, in general, are somewhat forgotten. He may have eight goals in nine league games this season but he would have to something simply remarkable to gain the worldwide media’s attention, in a league that has already been sown up by PSG and we are only in October.
The Champions League provides some limelight for the Brazilian but with local boy Kylian Mbappe now stealing some of the spotlight with his exceptional play, Neymar is growing ever unhappier in Paris.
Now Messi is keen to bring Neymar back to Barcelona as he attempts to win another Champions League and leave an untouchable legacy at the club. He feels that the side he played in alongside Luis Suarez and Neymar, was the best in recent years and he club should do everything possible to tempt him back.
Since he became club captain, the world’s greatest player is having much more of a say in how things are run at the club and is attempting to use his influence to draw in big players. The large wage bill, including Messi’s hefty wage, at Barca could become a problem if they are to bring Neymar back but PSG could cash in on their star man if they fail yet again to win the Champions League.
Ousmane Dembele is thought to be a big money player that Barcelona could dispose of, or use as a bargaining chip to bring Neymar to the club. Messi’s influence at the club is certainly growing and you wouldn’t back against the Barcelona board listening to his demands. This would be a stunning move and we would love to see the MSN trio back in action together.
🔊 Dembélé: “Messi? He advises me, he tells me to play like in Dortmund, as I can do, to let go on the pitch. I am determined, last year I had a big injury.”
