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Barcelona president confirms club will not sign Neymar in January

Sport360 staff

13:45 07/09/2019

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu closed the door on a possible January move for PSG star Neymar.

The La Liga giants spent all summer trying to negotiate a deal to re-sign the Brazilian, who moved to Paris for a world record £200m in 2017.

However, the two clubs were ultimately unable to agree a deal.

It was reported Barca offered several of their players, including Ivan Rakitic and Ousmane Dembele, as makeweights in a possible deal, but Bartomeu said it was not the case and explained that it was PSG who suggested their names in the deal.

“He’s not in the plans for January,” Bartomeu told Barca TV.

“Barcelona couldn’t meet PSG’s demands [this summer].

“Barcelona never offered players for Neymar, it was PSG that asked for them.

“We did everything possible to sign him.

“It’s a fact that Neymar asked PSG to negotiate only with Barcelona.

“The signing wasn’t easy, on a economic or social level.

“[Lionel] Messi didn’t tell me to sign Neymar, that’s a myth.

“The players don’t have a say in signings, it’s the sporting department, technical department and the directors who decide.

“This year we prepared the squad very quickly.

“It’s a more competitive squad than last season, it’s smaller, 21 players, but very competitive.

“And Ernesto Valverde knows the concept very well.”

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