Barcelona couldn’t sign Lionel Messi this summer, but there is still an opportunity to sign another former star in Neymar Jr this summer.
According to Dairo Sport, Neymar is willing to reduce his salary to return to the Catalan giants this summer.
The 31-year-old has faced severe criticisms from PSG supporters in recent seasons due to fans perceiving that he doesn’t offer his all to the side.
Probably not with the same skill-set as Lionel Messi although similar but he is younger than the Argentine and should be better than any player Barcelona have in his position currently.
Neymar Jr can also provide a considerable amount of goals, goals that might be enough to complement Robert Lewandowski.
But his injury worries cannot be overlooked, concerns over his unprofessionalism have also hovered around his head.
It appears Barcelona fans are also not really keen on seeing the Brazilian return to the club, despite the fact that he would provide something extra to the team.
Neymar represented the Blaugrana side between 2013 and 2017, after joining the Spanish club from Santos in the summer of 2013 for €88 million.
He scored 105 goals and provided 76 assists in 186 games for Barcelona before leaving for Paris Saint Germain in the summer of 2017 for £196 million.
Neymar has not had a good time at Paris Saint Germain
His time at the French capital has not always been rosy and it looks like after 6 years both parties are set to go separate ways.
The player appears to be ready to slash his astronomical salary to return to a place he called home for a period of four years.
Neymar has also been linked with a move to Manchester United as his captain at the national team of Brazil, Casemiro, is trying to lure him to Old Trafford.
The ex-Santos attacker currently earns €700,000 per week and he would have to significantly reduce that wage for him to return to Barcelona.
One factor which deterred Lionel Messi from joining Barcelona was the issue of finances.
The Argentine spoke about how he would have loved to return to the Spanish club but he doesn’t want to be responsible for the club selling players or reducing wages.
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo and Dairo Sport, Messi said: “I heard reports of La Liga giving the green light but the truth is that many, really many things were still missing in order to make my return to Barça happen”
“I didn’t want to be responsible for them selling players or reducing salaries. I was tired”.
Meanwhile, Neymar has made 173 appearances for Paris Saint Germain scoring 118 goals and providing 77 assists in the process, certainly not a bad return.
He sustained an injury on the 19th of February 2023 and was ruled out for the remainder of matches in the 2022/23 season.
However, all things being equal he should be back by the end of June 2023 but still uncertainty lingers over his future.
