FC Barcelona's quest to ink a deal with Paris Saint Germain winger Neymar collapsed, and the Brazilian footballer confirmed on Monday that he is staying at the French capital. There are several reasons why Neymar return to Barca did not materialize. Interestingly, it was his former teammate Lionel Messi who seemed to have started the Neymar transfer saga.
According to Independent, there are multiple reasons why Neymar's return to FC Barcelona broke down. One could be attributed to the preposterous wage demands of Ousmane Dembele, which made a considerable impact, especially at the end of the transfer window. Neymar's exit from Paris Saint Germain proved too much to pull off. Earlier reports revealed that the 27 years old PSG winger is desperate to return to Barca and even volunteered to shell off £20 million from his personal funds for the transfer to materialize.
The main story of this summer was La Liga's pursuit of Neymar; however, the negotiations ultimately collapsed towards the end of the transfer window after Barca was not able to provide a proposal satisfactory to PSG. Barcelona has explored all possible options just to get the nod of PSG. This includes possible player-plus-cash swap deals for the Brazilian footballer that involved Dembele, Ivan Rakitic, and Jean-Clair Todibo. However, according to a report, the move collapsed because of Dembele's firm determination not to leave Barcelona.
The report claims that both Todibo and Rakitic already agreed to the deal, but Dembele went the other way. Dembele's representatives, knowing his importance to the transfer, allegedly demanded preposterous financial terms which neither Barcelona nor Paris Saint Germain were prepared to nod. Neymar's saga is one of the most talked-about transfers in history but one with an underwhelming conclusion.
La Liga's interest in getting Neymar back apparently came out of nowhere. However, L'Equipe thinks that it was Neymar's former teammate Lionel Messi who really started the entire thing. Even after the departure of the 27 years old Brazilian from Camp Nuo, Neymar and Messi remained close. Reports claim that Neymar told Messi that he had grown weary of his life in Paris.
Reportedly, the Argentine told him through a message that they need to win the Champions League once again. Messi allegedly went to the executives of FC Barcelona with the same message while Neymar was convinced that a return to La Liga is the best for him. What happened next was an extremely complicated saga that eventually resulted in nothing.
Considering everything that has transpired, it is highly likely that Blaugrana will pursue Neymar in summer. However, the team may have a fierce competition this time in Real Madrid which was also interested in getting the Brazilian winger this summer.
