Barcelona News: Josep Bartomeu confirms Neymar's wishes of leaving Paris Saint-Germain this summer

What's the story?

Amid strong developments regarding Neymar's return to Camp Nou this summer, FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed that the Brazilian superstar is keen to leave Paris Saint-Germain.

In case you missed it...

Neymar left the Blaugrana dugout for PSG in the summer of 2017 for a world record transfer fee of €222 million. The Ligue 1 giants signed the dazzling winger to move a step closer towards winning the Champions League title. Neymar, alongside Kylian Mbappe, and Edison Cavani, developed a prolific attacking trio.

The transfer didn't go to plan as Paris Saint-Germain have been knocked out in UCL's Round of 16 in the past two seasons. Nasser Al-Khelaifi was unconvinced by his team's performance in the continental tournament and questioned the attitude of his superstars - an apparent jibe at Neymar. His comments read as follows-

"I want players that are ready to give everything to defend the honour of our shirt and who sign up to the club’s project,"

"Those who do not want to, or do not understand it, we meet and we speak. There are of course contracts to respect, but the priority now is complete commitment to our project.

"Nobody forced him [Neymar] to sign here. Nobody pushed him to. He came with a fully understanding of the cause to sign up to a project."

Neymar is also said to be interested in rejoining the Catalan giants after two seasons away in France.

The heart of the matter...

The Blaugrana president's comments on Neymar have made things even more interesting. Bartomeu addressed the press to confirm his take over of the vice-president's role after Jordi Mestre's departure. His comments on Neymar read as follows:

"We know that Neymar wants to leave PSG, but we also know that PSG do not want him to go.”

🔊 @jmbartomeu: “We know that Neymar wants to leave PSG, but we also know that PSG do not want him to go.” pic.twitter.com/y9j9INcO29

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 5, 2019

What's next?

Bartomeu also confirmed Barcelona's interest in Antoine Griezmann which has initiated a transfer merry-go-round this summer window. It will be interesting to witness who arrives at Camp Nou this summer.