Lionel Messi key in Neymar return to Barcelona

Lionel Messi is doing his upmost to persuade Neymar to join Barcelona and reject an approach from Real Madrid, according to Marca.

The outlet leads it Tuesday coverage with the news that the Argentine star has personally called his former Blaugrana teammate to dissuade him from joining their El Clasico rivals.

On Friday, Marca led the Madrid based media in claiming that Los Blancos have turned their attention to the Brazilian after admitting defeat in their pursuit of Paul Pogba.

Diario AS also say Neymar is now in Madrid’s headlights while Catalan outlet El Mundo Deportivo say that he is now Barca’s priority.

A report in Diario Sport earlier this week claimed that PSG will accept a transfer fee of €120m for the wantaway star, who will sign a five-year contract at Los Blancos, while Luka Modric will be included in the deal.

The Brazilian star has been heavily linked with a return to Barcelona this summer as an exit from the French capital had appeared to be looking increasingly likely.

However, despite it now appearing the Parisians will are particularly keen to sell the player although the Camp Nou is now appearing an unlikely destination due to the financial demands of the deal.

The former Santos forward left the Blaugrana for Paris in the summer of 2017 for a world record €222m fee, but reports continue to suggest he may be open to a departure from the Parisians.

Neymar has continually been linked with a return to Spain since his departure with the Catalan giants and Madrid said to be keen on a transfer, but the former have proved unable to table a sufficient bid.

La Liga - Club News