Why Lionel Messi Wants Neymar to Return to Barcelona
Soccer great, Neymar, left FC Barcelona to play for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. Now, Barcelona wants him back. Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, wants him back. The question after everything that happened to cause him to leave Barcelona is, why?
Neymar’s history
Brazilian soccer star, Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, commonly known as Neymar, showed impressive soccer abilities at an early age. Born in 1992, he became one of Brazil’s most popular public figures winning Player of the Year award four years straight.
Neymar joined FC Barcelona at the start of the 2013-14 season adding yet another gifted talent to the already loaded Spanish club. Despite success with the club, he left Barcelona in 2017, after a controversial transfer, to play for the Paris Saint-Germain club.
Messi’s history
Luis Lionel Andres (Leo) Messi is one of the best soccer players of all time. Born in Rosario, Argentina in 1987, he was offered the chance to train at FC Barcelona’s youth academy, La Mesa, when he was 13 years old.
At the age of 16, he was the youngest player to ever score a goal for Barcelona, where he has always played. At 32 years old, he also plays for the national team in Argentina.
On the field
Messi has always spoken positively about Neymar. As teammates, they were part of a dynamic trio along with Luis Suárez. With Neymar at PSG and Messi at Barcelona, they have been accused of not being team players on their respective teams.
Former Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal said, “I remember that Neymar at Barca played for Messi’s service. I’m not against Neymar. He is fabulous. But at PSG, he does not play for the team.” Maybe he’d rather play with his former team.
What happened
After Neymar delivered the best performance of his career, he decided that enough was enough. Although he led the team to a 6-1 win over PSG, Messi still got all the glory. Sources revealed that not only Neymar, but his father, Neymar, Sr., no longer wanted him to continually play second fiddle to Lionel Messi.
Aside from his father’s wishes for his son, it appears that money was also a big factor. So it was a big plus that PSG offered a record $245 million for his transfer.
Neymar’s failed negotiations with Barcelona
Barcelona spent most of last summer negotiating for Neymar’s return. Real Madrid also got into the game of trying to bring the Brazilian back to Spain. According to ESPN, PSG wanted $145 million, plus three players in exchange.
Neymar himself wanted a salary to match that of Messi. Earning $549,000 per week, Messi is the highest-paid player in the world. Real Madrid dropped out and Barca ultimately couldn’t deliver.
Messi wants Neymar back
Online news source, Daily Mail, reported the elder Neymar saying that his son was touched to learn that his former teammates want him back at Barcelona.
“A Brazilian only wants to be where he can be happy,” Neymar’s father, who is also his agent, said. “‘My son was very happy at Barcelona.”
Saying that Neymar is one of the best players in the world, Lionel Messi admitted that he would love for him to return to Barcelona.
According to The Guardian, the Barcelona captain said, “Thinking about it on a sporting level, for me Neymar is one of the best players in the world. Obviously he would have increased our chances of getting the results that we all want. The club would have taken a leap forward, in terms of sponsors, our image, our growth.”
Maybe next year this will play out, we have a feeling these rumors won’t be going away anytime soon.
