FC Barcelona Cancel Re-Signing ‘Toxic’ Ex-Player Due To Past Nightclub Visits And Parties: Reports

FC Barcelona have ruled out re-signing a world class but ‘toxic’ talent who once donned Blaugrana due to his penchant for holding parties and frequenting the city’s nightclubs during his first spell with them, according to El Nacional.

Neymar could have been a club legend at Camp Nou, but chose to move to Paris Saint Germain in 2017 when the Qatari-backed giants activated his €222 million ($249 million) release clause in a bid to emerge out of Lionel Messi’s shadow.

Though the Brazilian has been effective in Ligue 1, he hasn’t managed to win either the Ballon d’Or awarded by France Football for the world’s best player or a first Champions League title for PSG after finishing runner up to Bayern Munich in 2020.

Messi has since joined Neymar at Parc des Princes. With the Argentine’s contract set to expire on June 30, though, he has been linked with a possible return to FC Barcelona.

This week, when Messi was suspended for taking an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia, Fabrizio Romano reported how his camp informed PSG a month ago that they have no intention of renewing beyond the mentioned date.

Then, in the following days, PSG became open to letting Neymar go on loan and including a purchase option in the deal according to Carrusel Deportivo.

This has naturally triggered pundits such as those at SPORT to ponder how a potential second spell for Neymar in Catalonia might play out.

Beyond being financial impossible, though – Neymar finished fourth on Forbes’ list of the World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players in 2022 with $87 million, $55 million of which was made on-field, which is out of Barca’s reach – president Joan Laporta has also discarded the operation.

This is because Laporta finds the 31-year-old to be “toxic” according to El Nacional, and he also built a reputation for organizing “many parties” in the western beach suburb of Castelldefels where Ronaldinho and Messi once lived, plus frequenting Barcelona’s nightclubs.

Laporta “wants to sign another type of player”, and would reject Neymar even if former teammate and current head coach Xavi Hernandez wanted him around.

Simulatenously, it is also pretty unlikely that PSG would agree to pay the majority of Neymar’s wages and let a European rival have their number ’10’ for a pittance.

With these factors in mind, Neymar’s next destination is probably in the Premier
PINC
League and a club such as either one of the Manchester teams or Newcastle United.