Barcelona 'feeling betrayed' by Neymar's PSG contract extension

Barcelona officials have been left feeling betrayed by Neymar after the winger put pen to paper on a contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain.

After months and months of speculation, PSG finally confirmed on Saturday that Neymar had inked a new deal to tie himself to the French side until 2025, which has effectively killed the chances of a return to Camp Nou at any point in his career.

According to RAC1 (via AS), Barcelona have been left seething by Neymar's decision to stay as they had reached out to the Brazilian in recent weeks to discuss a transfer and had been left feeling as though a move was on.

Neymar is said to have admitted he wants to return to Barcelona, having stressed his desire to reunite with Lionel Messi towards the end of 2020, and the report even goes as far as to claim that Neymar confessed he 'was not convinced' by PSG's long-term project.

Mundo Deportivo add that Barcelona voiced their desire to re-sign Neymar, but because of their dire financial situation, such a move would only have been possible by swapping players. There are no mentions of names here but the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and even Ousmane Dembele have been touted as makeweights in the past.

It's said that Neymar was happy to wait to get a deal done, acknowledging that it might take the entire summer, so Barcelona were left stunned to see him extend his contract in Paris.

RAC1 believe the Barcelona chiefs felt 'betrayed and used' by Neymar, although MD specifically state that 'nobody at the club was offended' by the winger's actions. Either way, La Blaugrana have been left licking their wounds.

It's perhaps a blessing in disguise for Barcelona (as well as the fans who have been driven close to insanity by the seemingly never-ending saga of Neymar's potential return to Camp Nou) as the club can now focus on getting other deals done, such as Messi's contract extension.

Talks with the Argentine are progressing well and there is an optimism that Messi will extend his stay at Camp Nou with a contract that will also allow him to spend a few years and eventually retire in Major League Soccer.

In terms of actual transfer business, Barcelona's top priority is to bring in Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland, but his £150m price tag could (and definitely should) be too much for the Spanish side, who could turn their attention to a move for impending free agent Memphis Depay.

The free agent pool could be a popular spot for Barcelona, who are set to bring in Manchester City centre-back Eric Garcia and have discussed bringing Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum over from England as well.

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