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Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar has brandished rumours linking him with a return to Barcelona as "fake news" on social media.

The Brazil international has been at the heart of a media frenzy in recent weeks, as reports from Spain suggested that Neymar wanted to leave the French capital after falling into the shadow of teenage wonderkid Kylian Mbappé.

However, Neymar himself moved to silence any talk of him leaving the Parc des Princes by brandishing stories from outlets Mundo Deportivo and Diario AS as "fake news" in an Instagram video which has since been shared across social media.

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has fueled speculation even further following his comments about Neymar's future during a recent press conference. 

"It's not even in a transfer period at the moment, so I can't talk about a player and it's not something that'd happen in the next month or so anyway," Valverde told reporters. "Anything can happen in football, but it's hard, unlikely. I don't know, we'll see."

Paris Saint-Germain's Thomas Tuchel also weighed in on the recent rumours which have tipped Neymar to return to the Camp Nou.

However, while Valverde failed to play down the speculation, Tuchel didn't mince his words and insisted that it is "useless" to discuss Neymar's rumoured move back to Catalonia.

"It is October. I cannot speak with Neymar about what he will be doing in 2019," Tuchel said, quoted by ESPN's Jonathan Johnson. "He has a contract, so it is useless us speaking about his future."

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Neymar has a contract in Paris until 2022, something which firmly has PSG in the driving seat over the rumoured transfer.

However, player power is so prevalent in modern football - especially with the biggest stars - that it is not inconceivable that the Brazilian would be able to force his way back to La Liga next summer.