Neymar ‘insists’ on SHOCK Barcelona return

Tom Hancock

• 20 Jun 2023 22:41 BST
• 3 min read

Neymar has his sights set on a surprise return to Barcelona this summer, amid continued rumours of an exit from PSG.

The Brazilian superstar is about to enter the final two years of his contract at PSG, meaning the upcoming transfer window could be PSG’s last chance to generate a truly hefty fee for the 31-year-old.

It’s been six years since Neymar left Barca for PSG in a €222m move – a transfer which, probably unsurprisingly, still ranks as the most expensive in football history.

MORE: The 10 most expensive Brazilian players of all time

But now, according to SPORT, the one-time Santos prodigy is ‘insisting’ on a return to the club with whom he won two La Liga titles and the 2014/15 Champions League.

PSG are said to be willing to let Neymar go – but it’s fair to say completing a deal is likely to be considerably easier in theory than in practice.

Among other things, Barcelona remain hamstrung by the financial difficulties which left them unable to extend Lionel Messi’s contract two years ago – before the Argentine reunited with Neymar in Paris – and is still causing problems when it comes to registering players.

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Neymar's new beginning?

Exactly how much PSG would demand for Neymar is unclear, but our in-house Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) model currently rates the dazzling forward at €56.6m.

Regardless of where he might end up, though, a fresh start could be just what Neymar needs after a frustrating 2022/23 season – which ended for him in February due to injury.

PSG may have claimed yet another Ligue 1 title, but Neymar saw arguably his last chance to lift the World Cup pass as Brazil crashed out to Croatia in the quarter-finals of Qatar 2022 – before his club’s ultras turned on him, going so far as to gather outside his house to call for him to leave.