Lionel Messi Comments on Neymar’s Rumoured Move to Real Madrid

Neymar continues to be heavily linked with a return to Spanish football, but not to the Camp Nou where he made most of his name. Instead, the Brazilian has been touted as a key transfer target for Real Madrid. The Champions League finalist are reportedly ready to pay in excess of £200 million in order to secure the signing of the 26-year-old, who does not seem to be happy with life in the French capital.

Lionel Messi has admitted that it would be a travesty if Neymar decided to join Real Madrid in the summer – just 12 months after his shock Barcelona exit. Neymar moved to PSG in a world-record £196 million deal last summer, but there were suggestions that this was a move largely done in order to help Real Madrid secure their long-term target.

Madrid were one of the teams who tried to sign Neymar even when he was at Santos. Barcelona ended up winning the race, but Neymar played second-fiddle to Lionel Messi for the entirety of his career with the Catalan outfit. Even though there have been high-profile transfers between Barcelona and Real Madrid in the past, the Los Blancos were quite aware a direct transfer would not sit well right now.

Messi said signing Neymar would make Real Madrid even stronger. “It [Neymar to Real Madrid] would be terrible, because of everything he means to Barcelona. Ney won important trophies here. He won the Champions League and La Liga. It would be a huge blow for everyone. It would make Real Madrid even stronger from a football point of view,” said Messi to Sky Sports.

Meanwhile, Neymar is fighting to be fit again after a major injury. The 26-year-old has not featured for PSG since February, but he is quite confident about featuring for Brazil at the World Cup. All World Cup bets place Brazil as the favourites for victory in Russia, but that could change quite significantly if Neymar fails to recover in time. Despite being unavailable, the superstar has been included in the preliminary squad announced by manager Tite.

Neymar has been able to get 28 goals and 16 assists in 30 appearances for PSG this season. However, he has frequently fallen out with striker Edinson Cavani.