Barcelona Transfer News: Neymar tells Messi he wants to return to Barca
What's the story?
Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil star Neymar has reportedly informed Barcelona captain Lionel Messi as well as Blaugrana striker Luis Suarez that he is keen to return to the club, after an injury-plaugued season with the French giants.
Messi, Neymar and Suarez had formed the famous MSN attacking trio at Barcelona, winning the Catalans an incredible treble in the 2014-15 season, before Neymar left for PSG in a massive £200million transfer deal in 2017.
In case you didn't know...
Neymar started only 26 games for PSG this season, after suffering a broken foot in January. The Brazilian has made his impact felt however in the few games that he has played for Thomas Tuchel's team, scoring 23 goals and providing 10 assists across all competitions.
The mercurial forward has also been plagued by disciplinary issues at Le Parc des Princes, having been slapped a three match UEFA Champions League ban for next season after his unflattering social media comments on the referee following PSG's ouster at the hands of Manchester United in this season's Champions League.
This month, Neymar was banned for three matches after he struck a fan after PSG's defeat at the hands of Rennes in the Coupe de France final. He was also allegedly involved in a dressing room fight with some PSG team-mates. Neymar has also been stripped of the captaincy of the Brazil squad for the upcoming Copa America, with the arm-band going to his club team-mate Dani Alves.
The heart of the matter
According to Catalan media outlet Sport, despite interest from Real Madrid, Neymar is keen to return to Camp Nou after an unhappy time in Paris. Suarez and Messi are keen on the Brazilian moving back to the club, but whether Barcelona President Josep Bartomeu will go for him, forgetting the bad-blood after his big money transfer to PSG in 2016 remains to be seen.
The Blaugrana management are currently focused on landing Matthijs De Ligt, the 19-year-old Ajax captain and star centre back, competing with interests from Manchester United. Another option is Antoine Griezmann, who has announced that he'll be leaving Atletico Madrid this summer.
What's next?
Barcelona head to Japan for a pre-season friendly in July. They are set to face English giants Chelsea on July 27th in Saitama. Neymar, Messi and Suarez will next take to the field for their nations for June's Copa America.