Barcelona now face a tough decision this summer, as former star Neymar is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain.
The Blaugrana now must decide whether to make a move to bring the Brazil star back to Barcelona, but there are many factors at play. The club are struggling financially, and given Neymar’s significantly high wages, as well as a potentially large transfer fee, the viability of a deal remains questionable.
Even if they were able to bring him back this summer, following the departure of Ousmane Dembele to PSG, it is still arguable that this would be the wrong move for Xavi’s side.
Neymar, 31, has struggled with injuries these last few seasons, and despite still occasionally shining with top-level performances, he has been unreliable and inconsistent for a number of years.
As good as he was at Barcelona in his first stint, a reunion which may be billed as magical, may become anything but.
Barcelona need to move on
Neymar’s injury record in the last few years has made him a big risk for any club, and with Barcelona’s financial issues, any deal they make needs to be carefully planned with the future in mind.
Xavi has already added ageing players to his squad in Robert Lewandowski, Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan, and the focus should be on younger talents such as Ansu Fati, Gavi and even Lamine Yamal.
Although at his very best he is still “world-class” according to former manager Christoph Galtier, his wages and status as a superstar could disrupt the harmonic environment Xavi wants in his squad, and Barcelona should look forwards rather than back to the past.
With Vitor Roque also set to join in January, Barcelona can continue to build a team full of young superstars to solidify the club’s future, and signing Neymar could set that back.
Although he could be a good short-term option to replace Dembele, Barcelona are not desperate for another attacker given the options they have, and they will be better off rejecting any move for him this summer.