‘Stories don’t repeat themselves’… Deco closes the door to Neymar’s potential return to Barcelona | OneFootball

The last few days have seen FC Barcelona being strongly linked with the return of one of the most popular stars to have played in their ranks in recent times, i.e., Neymar Junior.

The Brazilian superstar has returned to his home country only recently, as he joined his boyhood club Santos in the last winter transfer window.

Since then, he has been putting on some impressive performances, showing that he is getting back to his best level, and also driving speculation about his potential return to the Blaugrana club.

However, the Catalan club is reportedly not too keen on such a move, and as SPORT has reported, the Barcelona Sporting Director, Deco, clearly ruled out the possibility of his return to the Blaugrana club.

The Portuguese official was talking to the media during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 game last night when he addressed this subject and said:

“Neymar is a phenomenon, and the important thing is that he is happy. Being in Brazil makes him happy, and that is what he should focus on. For him, it’s not so much about money anymore. I believe that if a situation were to arise in the future, it would have to be good for both us and for him.”

“A football team is built with balance and careful planning. Neymar was a phenomenon who played here, who won with Barça, but sometimes those stories don’t repeat themselves.”

Deco went on to insist that this is not the time to think about the Brazilian’s return to Barcelona while also wishing the best for him:

“Now is not the time for Barcelona to think about Neymar, nor for Neymar to think about that. He is at his club, Santos, which is the ideal place for him, and hopefully, he can return to the national team. He’s a phenomenon, and those of us who love football want to see him happy again.”

With these statements, the Blaugrana Sporting Director has put to bed the speculation about Neymar’s possible return to the Catalan club. This move was already unlikely to begin with as Barcelona have some other targets in mind to bring with a greater priority.