- 20 Dec 2024
Neymar and Messi to reunite at Barcelona? – Koeman hopes so
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 17 May 2021 21:46 BST
- 2 min read
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman wants to see both Lionel Messi and Neymar at Camp Nou next season.
Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar threw up the possibility of the duo teaming up once more following his side’s 3-1 Champions League win at Manchester United.
Messi, meanwhile, will be out of contract with Barcelona in the summer and is being linked with a move elsewhere. PSG and Manchester City are at the top of the list.
Koeman is upbeat over the possibility both Neymar and Messi could be playing in the Blaugrana next term.
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“I don’t like to speak individually, but as a player, as a coach, as a Barcelona fan, of course I like to see the best in the world. If both Neymar and Messi end up at the same club, even better,” he said.
Meanwhile, he is ignoring the noise surrounding six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi’s future.
“We know Leo’s situation,” he explained. “If there is one person who can decide his future, it is Leo.
“Comments from outside the club don’t interest me. But comments from within the club don’t help us to have the peace of mind we need.
“We cannot control what happens outside the club, but from the inside it’s different.”
Koeman on Neymar
He was also bullish on the prospect of Neymar making a surprise return.
“As a club you should always try to have the best players here,” he said.
Despite this, the possibility of Neymar returning to Barcelona, who he left for PSG in 2017 for a world record £198 million fee, remains an active talking point in the Spanish media. The prospects of a deal being completed, however, are minimal due to the club’s poor financial situation.
Indeed, it looks doubtful that they can keep Messi unless he agrees to take a significant pay cut. In tandem, he will likely have to agree to play with a side that is less competitive. It is a prospect he is unlikely to accept.
If Neymar and Messi, then, were to team up next season, the likelihood is that it would be in Paris.
