According to French publication L'Equipe, Neymar has informed Paris Saint-Germain that he wishes to leave the club. The player himself informed club representatives during a meeting yesterday, and has already expressed a desire to return to former club Barcelona.
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed on his YouTube channel that Neymar is desperate to return to the La Liga giants having enjoyed a productive spell with the Catalan club between 2013 and 2017. However, whilst there are good relationships between Neymar's agent and those behind the scenes at Barca, a deal is no guarantee.
With Lionel Messi already departing PSG and Kylian Mbappe doing his very best to do so as well, Neymar perhaps feels as though the time is right for a new challenge in his career. The 31-year-old has played his football in the French capital since joining in 2017. Since then, he has won five league titles and also the Ligue 1 Player of the Year in his debut season.
It is understood that Barcelona are aware of what a deal to bring Neymar to the club would look like in relation to salary, but the next step is to really commit to this deal and engage in negotiations with PSG. Therefore, the ball is firmly in the court of the club to produce a firm offer to try and bring the Brazilian international back to the club in a sensational move.
It is only six years ago that the club filed a lawsuit against Neymar over various bonuses they believe he should return. Still, it cannot be questioned of his love for the club, where he built up a strong relationship playing in attack alongside Messi and Luis Suárez during their time together at Camp Nou.
Neymar to Barcelona: What happens now?
One pretty big starting point here is to ultimately see what the thoughts of Barcelona manager Xavi are. It is all well and good Neymar saying he wants to leave PSG and return to Barcelona, but does the manager even want him there? These will be the discussions he and the club hierarchy are likely engaging in at this very moment.
It is believed that there is still a long, long way to go before the prospect of Neymar pulling on the famous Barcelona jersey once more becomes a reality, and we're only at the very beginning of discussions. Should this go through, it promises to be the most high-profile transfer in recent times, unless his current team mate Mbappe decides to go elsewhere!
In recent times, Neymar had been preparing for the upcoming Ligue 1 season with PSG, and only last week scored twice in their 3-0 victory over South Korea side Jeonbuk Motors. Could they be the final goals he scores for PSG?
