Barcelona target EXCITING transfer after Messi disappointment

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 8 Jun 2023 09:10 BST
• 4 min read

Barcelona may have missed out on a return for Lionel Messi, but the Catalans club could welcome back another form favourite of Camp Nou this summer.

Neymar has offered himself to the club, according to a report from Sport, which indicates there is a genuine possibility the transfer could be done.

MORE: Why Lionel Messi is not returning to Barcelona

Barcelona missed out on Messi because the World Cup winner was unwilling to wait to see if the Catalans could clear space on their wage bill to allow him to sign, but that issue does not exist for Neymar, who is under contract at PSG.

Moreover, Xavi’s side were confident that they would be able to clear their budget to allow Messi to sign, and they are similarly bullish that they will have sufficient salary limit to sign a top-level star such as the Brazil international.

MORE: Five Barcelona targets after failed Messi transfer

Neymar offered to Barcelona

Sport reports that Neymar has been offered to the club and that the stars are aligning to bring the player back to Barcelona after he so spectacularly left in the summer of 2017 for a world-record fee of €222 million that has not been threatened since.

PSG want to offload Neymar and the player wishes to depart. Indeed, he is willing to make an effort with his salary to return to the club where he enjoyed arguably the best football of his career during a spell that began in 2013 when he joined from Santos.

In the transfer market, the main threat to Barcelona over this case comes from the Premier League. Manchester United and Chelsea have both been linked with the player, who was back in the city last weekend to enjoy the F1 Spanish Grand Prix. None of the links to the 31-year-old are presently strong.

Barca head coach Xavi, meanwhile, had been planning on having Messi in his starting XI next season but will now need to consider a different attacking setup. He is prioritising another forward in the transfer market to help support Robert Lewandowski carry the goal burden as well as a player capable of playing on the wing, with Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati expected to leave.

Despite the optimism surrounding the possibility of Neymar’s return, an operation is still expected to be complicated given the costs involved.