Neymar's Pleas for Barcelona Return Fall on Deaf Ears as Brazilian Seeks Ligue 1 Exit

Reports from Spain sensationally claim that Neymar wants to return to Barcelona, but the Catalan club has little interest in taking the Brazilian striker back

Reports from Spain sensationally claim that Neymar wants to return to Barcelona, but the Catalan club has little interest in taking the Brazilian striker back to Camp Nou.

The new Brazil captain joined Paris Saint-Germain in a record-shattering £200m deal last year, as he felt that he could not achieve his full potential if he stayed in the shadow of Lionel Messi.

He had hoped to be the lone star at the Parc des Princes, but it has not worked out quite like that. First Edinson Cavani outscored him last season, and now Kylian Mbappe is the apple of everyone's eye following his World Cup performances for France.

PASCAL GUYOT/GettyImages

According to Mundo Deportivo, Neymar has realised that he made a mistake and would like to return to Barcelona, but he will struggle to convince the club to take him back, having burned his bridges with an ignominious exit that ended in a lawsuit.

Neymar also feels that he has been unfairly targeted in Ligue 1 and treated too physically by opposition defenders. He missed the end of last season with a metatarsal injury sustained against Marseille in February.

The report further claims that Neymar has shared his wish to rejoin Barcelona with club executives, even asking one of them to help facilitate his return, but with no success.

Neymar regrets his decision to leave Barcelona. He doesn't exclude a move to Real Madrid, but he would rather return to Barça because he has good friends there. However, the club won't consider his return since he left on bad terms and took them to court after his transfer. [md] pic.twitter.com/TQ54oaNGH7

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 6, 2018

Barcelona feel that they have adequately replaced Neymar since he left, adding Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Malcom to a forward line which already boasted Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

If Barcelona do close the door on Neymar, he may turn to Real Madrid, who were linked with the 26-year-old after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus this summer.