Neymar Return Remains Possible as Barcelona Consider Breaking World Record Transfer Fee

Barcelona will need to break the world transfer record if they wish to re-sign superstar Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain, but a return to Camp Nou does look

Barcelona will need to break the world transfer record if they wish to re-sign superstar Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain, but a return to Camp Nou does look increasingly possible. That is the latest gossip on the developing saga that threatens to take over the rest of the transfer window.

PSG triggered Neymar's €222m buyout clause to shatter the world transfer record in 2017, but the Brazilian has struggled to take the French giants to the next level. PSG have still failed to make a serious impact in the Champions League, while Neymar himself has seen both of his seasons in the French capital hindered by injury layoffs, each from a broken foot.

Srdjan Stevanovic/GettyImages

It has long also been rumoured that the player is keen to return to Barcelona.

The transfer would certainly be a complicated one, but the Daily Telegraph reports that PSG could be willing to sell if Neymar fails to improve on the current 60% capacity the club's performance analysis apparently shows he is operating at.

On top of that, the newspaper notes that Barcelona must offer PSG a deal worth more than the €222m they paid just two years ago. That would mean breaking the world transfer record.

How exactly Barcelona are expected to do that remains unclear, but a straight cash offer given the nature of reporting on the club's finances over the last few years seems improbable.

Aurelien Meunier/GettyImages

Local publication SPORT are obviously very keen to see Neymar return to Camp Nou and describe the process as having 'advanced by leaps and bounds'. That is because, as they claim, club and player have been talking and have an alleged pre-agreement for a five-year contract.

SPORT even claims that Barcelona want a 'public gesture' from Neymar to help move things along, and that he is apparently willing, although it isn't expected to happen before next week.

Neymar is alleged to have already informed PSG that he doesn't wish to return next season, while he has supposedly also let Barcelona know that they are the only club he wants to join, putting at rest those at Camp Nou who may fear another side poaching the 27-year-old.

David Ramos/GettyImages

And, in addition to all that, Brazilian publication Globoesporte claims that Neymar has told people close to him that he regrets leaving Barcelona to join PSG and hasn't forgotten it.

The report adds that talks between president Josep Maria Bartomeu and PSG counterpart Nasser Al Khelaifi have taken place. And while Barcelona may still feel uneasy about it given the nature of the departure, Globoesporte claim there is an acknowledgement that re-signing Neymar would 'satisfy' dressing room leaders Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.