Joan Laporta has admitted in the past that when he returned to office, efforts were made to bring Neymar back to the Camp Nou.
What did Laporta say about Neymar?
Barcelona didn’t re-sign the Brazilian was a good thing, says President Blaugrana, and Laporta admitted that returning Neymar to the Camp Nou would not help. In September, Joan reported that the former Catalan favorite had expressed a desire to repeat his moves from PSG once the league’s giants implement presidential changes.
No deal was made, however, and Neymar went on to sign a lucrative contract extension at the Parc des Princes – where Neymar reunited with former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi.
While Barça was disappointed not to plant Neymar at the time, as cracks began to form in their long-term plans, Joan admits that absence was best for everyone concerned. Joan Laporta said that as the numbers explained to them, they thought there was somewhere to do it. They didn’t have due diligence.
According to Laporta, they were told that Neymar wanted to come and that he could not continue there, having convinced the club to let him leave. But this is football and whoever makes the best offer wins. It was good not to sign it, it wouldn’t help. Neymar could have made a lot of money, but not signing it was a good thing.
A little about the topic
It is easy to see why Barça would be interested in Neymar’s return to their ranks, as he flourished during his previous stay at the Camp Nou. Bouncing out of Santos in 2013, the South American superstar has hit 105 goals in 186 appearances. Neymar helped Blaugrana secure two La Liga titles and a Champions League crown, with MSN’s formidable shock partnership forged with Argentine icon Lionel Messi and Uruguayan frontman Luis Suarez.