Back in the summer of 2019, Barcelona decided to splurge a huge £108million on the arrival of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid. It was a move that raised eyebrows, particularly with Lionel Messi pushing to land Neymar at the time. And, now, the La Liga giants look set to face a huge blow amid claims the Argentina international is close to securing a move to Inter Miami at the end of the campaign.
In 2019, Barcelona were ticking along well under Ernesto Valverde.
They had won the La Liga title that year, winning 26 of their 38 league matches, scoring 90 goals in the process and cocking up a tally of 87 points that Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid couldn’t get anywhere near.
Not content with merely winning the Spanish top flight, and with Valverde craving Champions League glory, Barcelona then decided to spend big on Griezmann.
But that didn’t please Messi, who had been lobbying for the club to re-sign Neymar - just two years after his devastating departure to Paris Saint-Germain.
Now, nearly four years on, it’s clear that was a mistake.
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Barcelona chief Joan Laporta could pay the price for club's failure to sign Neymar (Image: GETTY)
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Griezmann flopped at Barcelona, majorly, with the striker leaving for Atletico back in the summer. He’s poised to rejoin them permanently, too, for a fee of just £17m.
Neymar, meanwhile, is back to his devastating best at PSG. The Brazil international is operating at a dizzying level, having bagged 10 goals and clocked up eight assists from 12 Ligue 1 matches this term.
Now, there’s talk of Messi potentially leaving PSG for MLS outfit Inter Miami at the end of the season.
Reports have claimed the 35-year-old is actually close to agreeing to such a Hollywood move, where he’d become the biggest signing in the history of football over on those shores.
It would be a huge blow for Barcelona chief Joan Laporta, who has regularly expressed his desire to bring Messi back to Catalonia for one last swansong.
Messi was livid when Barcelona lost his close friend in 2017, a punishment for publicly pursuing PSG players such as Marco Verratti and Adrien Rabiot that year.
Messi wanted Neymar back three years ago yet that didn’t happen due to the board’s desire to bring in Griezmann instead.
And, now, the Samba star can be blamed for this latest move as well.
Had Neymar gone back to Barcelona in 2019, chances are he’d still be there now. Feasibly, he’d have had to have taken a pay cut - but there’s nothing to suggest he wouldn’t have fallen in line.