Aware of the unending rumors that Paris Saint-German superstar Neymar could be making his way back to Barcelona soon, former Barca president Sandro Rosell said Camp Nou would be wise to re-acquire the Brazilian striker. In so doing, the Spanish side will be getting a footballer that is second only to team captain Lionel Messi, according to Rosell.
The former chief was instrumental in the hiring of Neymar from Santos in 2013, which led to several title wins for the Catalans. But the party ended in 2017 when the Brazil international made the controversial decision to leave Spain for France.
The transfer to PSG led to a whopping fee of €222 million and according to Mirror, Barcelona allowed the loss of a player that Rosell views as possibly better than Cristiano Ronaldo, acknowledged as the closest rival of Messi.
To be fair, the assessment is supported by Neymar's winning tradition that he sustained after joining the Parisians. The Brazilian saw his team capturing three successive Ligue 1 championships and other titles although PSG is still frustrated by attempts to win the Champions League again following the hiring of Neymar.
And for his part, the PSG ace has yet to win the Ballon d'Or and if indeed he would be better than Ronaldo, he has a lot of catching up to do. The Portuguese superstar boasts of five Ballon wins and could still score another before retirement.
Still, Rosell said that if it were up to him, he'd move heaven and earth to secure the signature of Neymar the soonest. The former Barcelona exec said: "If I were the president of Barca, I would try to sign Neymar."
"He is the second-best player in the world after Messi and fits perfectly into the philosophy of the club," Goal reported Rosell as saying, citing the media reports from Spain.
The vote of confidence for Neymar is no doubt deserving, added the report, saying the forward powered PSG in the domestic competition with his 13 goals despite having to deal with injury issues. As a result, when the season was ended earlier, the Parisians were picked as champions for occupying the top of the table.
Meanwhile, Rosell also weighed in on the rumored hiring of Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan. The Argentine striker is said to be a priority signing by Barca and there were suggestions the Catalans are ready to set aside Neymar to ensure that Martinez will transfer to La Liga next season.
The cost, however, of signing Martinez could be as high as €111 million and the former club chief proposed that instead of paying cash, Camp Nou can offer a swap deal that will send two star players to the Serie A side.
