No, you’re not dreaming, it is the year 2025.
You might be wondering how on earth, then, we are sitting here discussing the possibility of Neymar returning to Barcelona this summer.
After all, the Brazilian has just turned 33 years old and has only played 13 games of football in the past two seasons.
I’m not going to blame you for scratching your head. However, this is the world of football transfers — and the world of Barcelona football club — which means: don’t rule anything out.
As unreasonable of a fit as he might seem for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, it is an idea being explored behind the scenes, as reported by my colleague David Ornstein.
I’ll start by laying out the state of play.
Neymar signed a six-month deal with his boyhood club Santos last month, after reaching an agreement with his Saudi club Al Hilal to leave on a free transfer. He moved to Saudi for €90million (£80m/$102m) in 2023 and scored once in seven appearances, with his stay disrupted massively by the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered while playing for Brazil just months after he joined.
His short-term contract at Santos will, in theory, allow him to get back in shape — and he has made a bright start, scoring twice in his six appearances so far. Despite the stuttering return with Al Hilal after his ACL injury, Neymar is now on a mission.
It is no secret that Brazil’s record goalscorer has pushed to come back to Barcelona multiple times since he joined PSG in 2017 for a fee of €222million — which remains a world record. Neymar never felt as comfortable in Paris as he did in Barcelona, and his entourage have let the club know that for years.
In 2019, the Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, tried and failed to bring him back. Four years later, when Neymar left PSG to join Al Hilal, he tested the waters with Barcelona before committing to Saudi. At that time, the Catalans were drowning in a financial turmoil and they could not even dream of paying a fee to PSG. Neymar accepted the reality of the situation and agreed to join Al Hilal.
(Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images)
But why should it be different now, with Barcelona still fighting over salary limits and player registrations? And most importantly, in what world can club executives think it is a good idea to sign an older player and risk disrupting the established order of a young squad bursting with talent?
Pini Zahavi, the player’s agent, is a key figure when it comes to trying to understand what is happening here. Zahavi holds a tight friendship with the Barca president Joan Laporta, who has sanctioned in recent years the arrival of two of Zahavi’s biggest clients: Robert Lewandowski and Hansi Flick. The relationship between the agent and the executive has been essential in those transfers, and will surely be again in the future; Jonathan Tah, the Bayer Leverkusen centre-back available on a free this summer, is another player managed by Zahavi who has been linked with Barcelona.
With the club due to be playing at the renovated Camp Nou in 2025-26, the arrival of a star name like Neymar would be appealing to Laporta — to celebrate the return to the stadium and to help sell out the 60,000 seats initially available when the team does return.
Inside the dressing room, Neymar would have some influential allies. The club captain and star performer this season, Raphinha, has always been close to Neymar from their time together with the Brazil national team. Then there is Lamine Yamal, who grew up worshipping Neymar. The two met at the Globe Soccer Awards Gala in December and have been interacting with each other on social media in the months since.
(Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
One positive for Barcelona’s precarious financial situation is that Neymar would arrive on a free transfer, with his short-term deal with Santos expiring this summer. With his sight set on representing Brazil at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, he may even agree to personal terms that were favourable to Barcelona in order to be back at a club he loves on the biggest stage.
From a football perspective, it is difficult to argue how this move would make sense. It’s hard to see how a 33-year-old Neymar, with his extensive injury record, would fit in Flick’s high-pressing system, which requires a significant amount of off-the-ball work from his forward line. This exact issue, in fact, is the reason why the 36-year-old Lewandowski has been dropped from the starting line-up several times this season.
It is no secret that Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, is exploring the market for a new forward — preferably one that can play on the left-hand side as well as in a central position.
Club sources, who asked to speak anonymously to protect their jobs, told The Athletic that some of the players favoured by Deco are Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, Milan’s Rafael Leao and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak. They look like far more suitable profiles to how Flick wants his Barcelona to play — but all three will have plenty of suitors this summer should they leave their current clubs.
But what if Barcelona’s financial hurdles do Neymar a favour here? What if the club can’t fight to sign one of Deco’s top targets because of more registration problems? What if Neymar is the most feasible option available, and one that would please the club’s president and likely give a boost to matchday ticket sales?
This is certainly going to be the biggest decision facing Barcelona this summer. As relevant as Laporta’s criteria has always been when it comes to Barcelona’s business activity, the preferences of Deco and the amount of money that the club recoup from player sales are important factors too.
And, above them all, there should be the thoughts of Flick, the manager who has invigorated Barcelona and turned them into La Liga and Champions League contenders. No relevant signing will be made next summer without him giving it the green light — even if he and Neymar do share an agent.
But, as we said: this is the sometimes unfathomable world of football transfers, and this is Barcelona, so don’t rule anything out…
(David Ramos/Getty Images)
