Barça-Neymar, open debate

The French press launched this Tuesday night against Neymar.

"Unbearable and self-centered," they called him, in addition to criticizing that, in the absence of Mbappé, he wanted to wage war on his own: "Was it necessary to hit the ball six times each time he had possession?"

The sporting prestige of Neymar, then, was very touched again in Paris after the elimination in Manchester, another year without the Champions League.

Also his public image, a bad loser like that of his team.

And that of your future?

That is another story.

Neymar ends his contract in 2022 and, if they are exchanging documents to sign the renewal, he has moved to a new scenario in which, as in 2019, Barça believes with the possibility of achieving his return.

Despite being a tremendously controversial character on and off the pitch, Joan Laporta believes that his signing would have a triple positive effect.

First, it would increase Barça's brand value again.

Second, it would raise the level of a squad to which Koeman has returned value and vigor with the entry of young people such as Araújo, Mingueza, Dest or Pedri.

And third, he would give an unbeatable wink to Messi, who dreams of reuniting with the Brazilian since his departure in 2017. Upon his return, the squad even raised Bartomeu the possibility of lowering his salary.

A sign that Neymar is still a very beloved character in the dressing room.

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Barça estimates that, if it does its homework with sales, it could have up to 100 million euros to sign as reported last week by La Vanguardia. Joan Laporta met on March 3, before even being president, with Pini Zahavi

. David Alaba was one of the names that were on the table. But also Neymar. Zahavi was the representative who, together with Neymar's father, wove his escape to PSG. They talked about the future. Neymar has always had it in mind to return to Barcelona. He is certainly not as desperate as in 2019, where he could not bear a city, Paris, which was also hurting him personally. But he has already said publicly that "whatever" he had to play with Messi next season. And if Messi ends up renewing ...

So a new season of the series "Neymar" opens. His return does not seem easy. Although the contract ends,

PSG is a proud club and will not make his exit easy

, especially if Mbappé flies to Madrid. He would run out of reference players. But Neymar can also squeeze, and a year of a disgruntled player is not a good business.

Finally, the social impact of Neymar's return would remain to be resolved. For a percentage of Barça fans, the team lost their smile and football without him.

He filled fields, filled the eyes and his athletic performance was indisputable. He was one of the great protagonists of the triplet of 2015 among other successes. For another percentage, perhaps even higher, their unannounced departure was unforgivable. As much as the game of lawsuits with the club, which finally did not go well because a court ruling forced him to pay 6.7 million euros. However, the Neymar 2 case remains pending. The Brazilian is "responsible" for the first official conviction in the history of Barça, which as a club admitted two tax offenses. The debate is open. Or rather, stay open.