Lionel Messi thought Neymar would go to Real Madrid if he didn’t return to Barcelona

Lionel Messi has said that he thought Neymar would head to Real Madrid over the summer if he did not return to Barcelona.

The Brazilian has admitted he wanted to leave Paris Saint-Germain during the transfer window, and he was heavily linked with a Camp Nou return.

Real Madrid were also rumoured to be interested in the Brazilian, and Messi has said he would not have been surprised to see his former team-mate at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I really thought Neymar would go to Real Madrid if he didn’t come here,” he said. “He really wanted to leave Paris and he’d shown it.

”And I thought that Florentino [Perez] and Real Madrid were going to do something to sign him.”

Source | RAC1

Of course Neymar ended up staying in the French capital and has enjoyed a bright start to the season with four goals in five games for the Ligue 1 side.

However, there has already been speculation Barca will reignite their interest in 2020 and those rumors are likely to hot up as the season progresses.