Barcelona midfielder Arthur is “praying” that Neymar returns to Catalonia to join him at the club.
Neymar, 26, made a world record-breaking €222 million (around £200m) move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017 after three successful years with Barca.
Was Neymar worth €222m? Five things to know…
- Neymar made his professional debut for Brazilian side Santos at the tender age of 17.
- The 26-year-old moved to Barcelona in 2011, aged 20, for £45m.
- The Brazil international scored 15 goals in 41 games in all competitions during his first campaign.
- Neymar would go on to form one of the most formidable strike partnerships in history with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. The trio, known as MSN, scored over 100 goals between them in three consecutive seasons.
- Neymar finished his spell at Barca with 105 goals in 186 appearances across all competitions.
Since joining PSG the Brazilian star has been integral to their domestic treble haul and has scored 44 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions for the club. However, claims Neymar is not quite happy in the French capital linger and the notion return Camp Nou is a common talking point when former Barcelona players speak to the media.
And Arthur, who moved to Barca in the summer from Grêmio for around £30, has been “praying” for Neymar’s return.
“I personally am praying for him to come because he is a superstar, it is indisputable,” Arthur told Mundo Deportivo.
“I think that the more great players the team has, the better.”
As well as calling upon divine intervention, the 22-year-old claims is also using his influence behind the scenes to secure his compatriot’s signature.
He added: “Personally, I’m doing a lot of work to get him back, but he has his life, he knows what he’s doing and I do not know how deep those negotiations are, if there are options for him to come or not.
“But he is a personal friend and a professional that I admire a lot and would be very happy if he could come back here.”
Neymar is PSG’s most important player and has scored 11 goals in 12 Ligue 1 games this season. The Parisians will be reluctant to allow their principle talisman to leave at this stage of their campaign, especially when they paid such an enormous amount for the player.
Could Neymar leave PSG?
Neymar is contracted to remain with PSG until 2022, but AS say he and Barcelona are in “constant contact”.
It is also claimed he could leave in 2020 as the release clause in his contract would allow him to depart PSG for £143m. Neymar would only be 28 in 2020 and so his return to Camp Nou could still be on.
Barcelona’s biggest star over the last decade, Lionel Messi, will be 33 in 2020, as will Luis Suarez. Bringing Neymar back could help the Catalans avoid the trouble that Real Madrid have faced after allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to leave in the summer.
This point was not lost on former Barcelona playa Jordi Cruyff who told Barca Blaugranes: “What happened to Madrid is a warning for Barca.”
“Madrid players are still great. But in football, you need that player who even losing 2-0 you think you can win. It happens with Messi.
“It’s much more than football… it is belief.”
The post Arthur: I pray Neymar rejoins Barcelona appeared first on Squawka News.
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