Barcelona sporting director Deco has confirmed that the club briefly held talks with Al-Hilal attacker Neymar over a summer return to Camp Nou.
La Blaugrana received a world-record €222m (£193.7m) fee from Paris Saint-Germain for the Brazil international in the summer of 2017, and Neymar won five out of six Ligue 1 titles during his time in the French capital.
The 31-year-old recorded a whopping 195 goal contributions in 173 games for PSG - 118 of his own and 77 assists - but he was also bedevilled by injuries and was often the target of fan vitriol.
During his final months in Paris, PSG ultras turned up outside Neymar's house to demand that the attacker leave the club, and their wishes were granted as he made the move to Al-Hilal for €90m (£78.5m).
The former Santos youngster has one goal and three assists to show from his first five games for the Saudi Pro League giants, but he recently suffered a devastating ACL injury while playing for Brazil, which will rule him out for several months.
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Prior to swapping PSG for the Middle East, Neymar was inevitably tipped to make a sensational return to Barcelona, but the Blaugrana's long-running financial issues meant that such a deal was always considered unrealistic.
Nevertheless, Deco has revealed to Lance! that discussions were held with Neymar's camp, but the player's will to come back was not enough, as his extortionate salary made a move unfeasible.
"There were conversations with his manager. This was much more with the president, but the truth is that the situation was never presented in a real way and how it could be done," Deco said.
"We have the issue of Financial Fair Play that dictates a lot, but Neymar's situation was never concretely stated. The numbers... we know Neymar had a very high salary, he had offers from clubs in Saudi. It was very difficult to get Neymar back in the current scenario.
"He is a fantastic player. Obviously he would fit into Barcelona, but there was never a real possibility, apart from the desire he had to return from Barcelona."
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Despite winning no fewer than 14 domestic accolades in Paris, Neymar failed to achieve Champions League glory with Les Parisiens, although Deco still believes that his time at the Parc des Princes can be considered a success given the difference in calibre between Barcelona and PSG.
"I don't think he didn't have the same success [as he had with Barcelona]. He had the same success. The difference is that he wasn't at one of the biggest clubs in the world, which is Barcelona," Deco added.
"He played a lot at PSG, but Barcelona's dimension is different. This means that players can appear for the Ballon d'Or. Neymar had fantastic seasons at PSG. The difference is that PSG, unfortunately, was unable to provide the necessary dimension. Barcelona, in this sense, is a club that can project much more.
"I think Neymar was happy in Barcelona, he was in a fantastic moment. We never know if there was pressure from someone to make this decision. It's very difficult to give an opinion, but I think he played a lot at PSG."
As well as Neymar, his former PSG and Blaugrana teammate Lionel Messi was also linked with an audacious Catalonia homecoming, but the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner instead penned a two-year deal with MLS side Inter Miami.
A loan return to Barca in January has been mooted after Inter Miami's failure to make the MLS playoffs, but both Messi and Blaugrana president Joan Laporta have ruled out that possibility.
Ben Knapton
