Barcelona president Joan Laporta has come to claim that Neymar was sure of making a return to Barcelona despite all that has happened between them. The club president said he is confident the player wanted to return to the club this summer before Lionel Messi joined him at Paris Saint-Germain.
After four hugely successful years playing alongside Messi at Camp Nou, the Brazilian star player decided to leave the La Liga giants in 2017 and join French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain side in a deal that made him the most expensive player in the world. He was signed for a world-record fee of £198m.
Laporta has since confirmed that Barcelona was looking to re-sign the 29-year-old, who had been in contact with the club during the early stages of this summer’s transfer window. According to Barca, president, he said: “We tried to sign Neymar. It seemed like an interesting signing. He got in contact. He was crazy about coming.”
He also said: “We interpreted fair play in another way at the time. If we had known all the rules [in La Liga], we would not have made that offer.” Neymar, who is currently away on international duty, made 186 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions and scored 105 goals and provided 76 assists. The Brazilian won two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys, and lifting the Champions League trophy in 2014-15.