La Liga president Javier Tebas claimed that Lionel Messi is an essential element of La Liga and not Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar.

Neymar has been linked with a move back to the Camp Nou all summer, having now missed all of PSG’s first three games of the Ligue 1 campaign.

And while Tebas admitted that he would like to see Neymar back in Spain, he insisted the presence of the Brazilian would not be as vital as Messi when it comes to growing the league overseas.

“Yes, of course [I’d like Neymar to return]. With his qualities he’s in the top three players in the world. It would be very important for La Liga if he came again, although it wouldn’t be defining for the Spanish league,” Tebas told Marca .

“The defining thing is that we play 10 months a year, with 20 clubs each playing each other and generating passion and joy each weekend for fans in Spain and across the world.

“A player like Neymar gives you a following in countries that look out for him, but he’s not an essential element, not even Cristiano Ronaldo was. Lionel Messi, on the other hand, is an essential element because he’s the heritage of La Liga.”