Why Barcelona don’t need Neymar back

Sometimes there’s just no going back.

The breakup was tough. The fans bemoaned the leaving of a superstar and the pundits believed the sun to be setting on what was one of Barcelona’s most successful eras but after just seven short months rumour has it that Neymar wants back in.

Rumours can often be little more than talk but where there’s smoke there’s often fire and with Paris Saint-Germain’s recent exit from the Champions League, Neymar’s injury and ongoing issues with teammate Edinson Cavani, there’s likely some truth to the speculation that he’s less than thrilled at PSG.

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Neymar is a star, there’s no denying it but a return to the Camp Nou is a thought that Barcelona shouldn’t be entertaining right now. The split between the glamorous couple was far from amicable and in the Brazilian’s absence the Catalan giants have moved on. Despite Neymar’s overwhelming talents, there’s just no room for him at the club.

The additions of Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho have all but closed the door on any prospective return and with Barcelona enjoying success this season in all competitions-thanks in part to a shift in footballing philosophy from coach Ernesto Valverde-there is an argument to be made that the inclusion of Neymar would do more harm than good.

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From a positional point of view, the Blaugrana have an abundance of quality attacking options and with Valverde’s tactical preference for a 4-4-2 formation, adding Neymar would mean another high profile player would likely need to be moved on. After the saga that was both the Dembélé and Coutinho signings, there’s no chance that either of them are going anywhere anytime soon.

Then there’s the financial side of things. Neymar might well be less than enthralled with his current predicament but after paying a record transfer fee for the Brazilian, there’s no way PSG will even consider letting their man go for less than what they paid and that’s ultimately a figure that Barcelona can’t afford.

Rumour or not, there’s no chance we see Neymar back in the Blaugrana colours. There are plenty of reasons to believe he will stray from Paris Saint-Germain in the coming year but Barcelona would do well to not play any part in such a move.