Neymar offers himself to Barcelona only for Hansi Flick to reject – report

Earlier this month, reports emerged stating that former Barcelona superstar Neymar was eager to return to the club he left seven years ago to join PSG.

The Brazilian attacker, currently plying his trade in Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr, had been linked with Barcelona last summer as well and it was claimed that he would be willing to return to the club this year too.

Neymar offered himself to Barcelona

In fact, now according to Gerard Romero (h/t SPORT), Neymar offered himself to Barcelona earlier this month.

Indeed, the 32-year-old superstar is said to have explored the possibility of returning to Barça during this summer, given the club’s search for a new left-winger.

Having missed out on priority target Nico Williams, the Blaugrana have been searching far and wide in the market for a new left-winger.

Neymar tried to make the most of this situation to try and return to Barcelona and offered himself to the club.

However, according to the report, Barça manager Hansi Flick nipped the idea in the bud as he did not want Neymar in his project. The German tactician did not view the Brazilian’s return in favourable light and was swift in rejecting the idea.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that Neymar has pushed to return to Barcelona after leaving for PSG in 2017. As mentioned earlier, there were talks about a possible comeback in 2023 as well.

But the closest he came to returning was in 2020 when Barcelona were offering €110 million plus a plethora of players to PSG for his signing but the deal fell through as the French club held out for €130 million.

All eyes on Chiesa

With Nico Williams not arriving and a move for Rafael Leao likely to be out of the club’s reach financially, Barcelona have focused their efforts on Juventus outcast Federico Chiesa.

The Italian international would be available for around €10-15 million this summer and is willing to join the club as well.

Once the Catalans sort out the registration issues with Dani Olmo, things could accelerate on the Chiesa front.