Bad News For Lionel Messi And Co. As Barca Chief Reveals $167M Signing ‘Unlikely’ To Happen

FC Barcelona chief Josep Bartomeu has revealed that the signing of Neymar is “unlikely” to happen because of the financial crisis infused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Neymar has been heavily linked with a move back to Barcelona over the last few months. Barca captain Lionel Messi is understood to have been pushing the club to re-sign Neymar, who left the Catalans to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2017 for a world-record fee of $250 million.

Neymar joined Barcelona from Brazilian club Santos in 2013 and he went on to help the club win eight major trophies, including two La Liga titles and the Champions League. The playmaker scored 105 goals in 186 appearances for Barca across all competitions, while he formed a formidable attacking front-line alongside Messi, and Luis Suarez, who earlier said that Neymar will be welcomed back with open arms.

Neymar and Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez have been Barcelona’s top targets ahead of the summer transfer window. It was earlier reported that Neymar has disclosed to his close PSG teammates that he wants to go back to the La Liga side. Last summer, Barcelona came close to re-signing Neymar but the deal fell through because of the player’s hefty release clause.

The French side PSG have reportedly labeled Neymar with a price of $167 million this summer. In an interview with Spanish Radio Channel RAC1, Barca president Bartomeu was asked about Neymar’s possible return to Nou Camp during the upcoming transfer market.

“Such an operation is unlikely because the situation of all the clubs in Europe is very difficult,” Bartomeu told RAC1.

Barcelona made their first transfer of this summer when they sold Arthur Melo to Juventus in exchange for 30-year-old Miralem Pjanic, a move they have been criticized for. Defending the club’s decision, Bartomeu insisted that Pjanic has been on the club’s radar for a while and it was not a sudden call.

“Pjanic is a player who has wanted to sign for us for a long time. He was highly sought after and there was a Barca player who wanted Juve. But it is an exceptional situation. It is not to balance finances because we would have sold other players for whom we had offers,” Bartomeu added further in the interview with RAC1.