Joan Laporta Says Ex-Barcelona Star Was Desperate to Return to the Spanish Club Before Lionel Messi’s Exit

• Neymar played four seasons at Barcelona where he won two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys and a Champions League
• The Brazilian superstar left the club back in 2017 to join French Ligue 1 giants Paris-Saint Germain, but he had been linked with a return
• Barcelona president Joan Laporta has disclosed that the forward was keen on reuniting with Messi at the Camp Nou

President of Barcelona football club of Spain Joan Laporta has stated that Brazilian legend Neymar was desperate in reuniting with Lionel Messi at the Catalan club before the Argentine left, Sky Sports reports.

Laporta stated that Neymar was keen on a return to the Catalan outfit having left to join French club Paris Saint-Germain.

The playmaker was at the La Liga club for four years helping them to win two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys and a Champions League.

Neymar was part of the free-scoring MSN trio alongside Messi and Luis Suarez, and while he continues to ply his trade in France, he had been linked with a return to the Camp Nou.

Marcus Thuram player profile: Borussia, injury, contracts

Football

He was eventually reunited with Messi at PSG following Barcelona’s financial status as they could not keep the six-time Ballon d’Or winner due to Liga's Financial Fair Play rules.

Laporta told Esport3 via 90min:

"We tried to sign Neymar. From the conversations that we had, bringing him here seemed like an attractive proposition and he was keen to come.

"We interpreted fair play differently, but based on the way [Javier] Tebas [LaLiga president] interprets it, there was no point in making that offer."

Messi, Neymar reunite during World Cup qualifier

Lionel Messi and Neymar could not help but burst into laughter after health officials stormed the pitch to disrupt the World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina.

The South American heavyweight match was halted following bizarre scenes when Brazilian authorities walked up to the pitch over COVID-19 protocol.

They claim four UK-based Argentine players had falsified their documents just to evade quarantine as they entered the country.

Tebogo Langerman's cars, net worth, houses, wife and salary

Football

Photo shows Messi and his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate (and international opponent) Neymar, seemingly unable to quite understand what they had witnessed as they burst into laughter.

PSG not guaranteed of Champions League – Ronaldo de Lima

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Brazilian legend Ronaldo de Lima has stated that although French giants Paris Saint-German have a formidable squad, they are not poised to winning the Champions League.

According to the former Real Madrid forward, having a great squad is not a major criteria for winning Europe’s elite competition.

In his comments, the president of Spanish club Real Valladolid looked back to his time with Real Madrid as evidence that a strong squad on paper will not necessarily translate into winning Europe's most desired prize.