Neymar's Agent’s Latest Statement Can Make Barcelona Captain Lionel Messi Unhappy: Report

Neymar may not move to FC Barcelona from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) this summer, the Brazilian’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro, has said. He went on to say that the coronavirus crisis has had major financial impacts on soccer and that is the reason why Neymar won’t be rejoining Lionel Messi at Nou Camp at the end of this season.

Neymar, who joined PSG for a world-record fee of $241 million ahead of the 2017-18 season, has netted 69 goals in 80 appearances for the French side across all competitions and has won three consecutive Ligue 1 titles. While he was still in his first season in Paris, reports had emerged that Neymar found the standard of the league poor and wanted to return to La Liga’s Barcelona.

Moreover, on every given opportunity, Barca captain Messi has talked about wanting Neymar back at Nou Camp. The Argentinean has said that Barcelona cannot win the Champions League with the current side and that is one of the primary reasons why Messi has been desperate to have Neymar back to the Catalan side.

While it has been understood that despite suffering from the financial crisis, Barcelona have been trying to clear funds for Neymar's transfer, the forward’s agent has claimed that his client may not leave PSG this summer.

“I think Neymar will stay at PSG because the market is difficult. The economic world of football will change,” added Ribeiro in a recent interview, as per Daily Star.

Neymar, who helped Barcelona win the treble in 2015 alongside Messi and Luis Suarez, reportedly had agreed to accept a pay cut at Barcelona. That showed how badly he wanted to get out of Paris despite being offered a massive contract extension by PSG that also included an additional bonus of worth $107m. It was reported that the 28-year-old playmaker was also ready to sacrifice a commercial deal with Qatar National Bank, which was worth as much as $53m annually.