Lionel Messi opens up on Barcelona's failure to sign Neymar | OneFootball

Lionel Messi has admitted that he “doesn’t know” if Barcelona did everything they could to sign Neymar this summer.

The Brazilian forward was heavily linked with a move back to Camp Nou during the transfer window, with the Catalan club making an official offer towards the end of August that was rejected by Paris Saint-Germain.

It was confirmed by PSG that the Liga giants had tabled a bid of €120m plus Ousmane Dembélé for the South American sensation, which was swiftly rejected by the Parc des Princes outfit who were only interested in a cash deal.

Reports from the Spanish press throughout the summer claimed that Messi was the main driver behind the potential transfer – asking the Barcelona board to be reunited with his former colleague despite Antoine Griezmann’s arrival.

And in an in-depth interview with Sport on Thursday, Messi has confirmed that he did want to see Neymar back at Camp Nou, but conceded that he did not know about the goings-on behind the scenes.

“I understand those people who are against his return and it’s understandable for what happened with ‘Ney’ and the way that he left. But thinking about it on a sporting level, I personally think Neymar is one of the best players in the world and having him in our squad would increase our chances of achieving our objectives.

“But, in the end, it didn’t happen and we have to only think about the squad we have and focus on our goals.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I didn’t have much information about how the negotiations were going to say whether or not Barcelona did everything possible.

“I don’t know what happened with the board. I know that I spoke with Ney and he told me how things were going. He was desperate to come back. I don’t know if the club really tried or not.

“What I do know, Neymar was hoping it would happen. I also understand it’s very difficult to negotiate with PSG after all their previous back and forth issues with Barcelona. And it’s difficult because Neymar is one of the best around.

“Negotiations are never easy. I can’t offer an opinion because I don’t know everything. I know what was published and what they said.”

Messi has so far missed all of Barcelona’s games this season with a calf injury and has confirmed he will not be available for the match this weekend against Valencia.