Club president Joan Laporta has revealed that Barcelona tried to bring Neymar back to Camp Nou this summer.
The Brazilian star left Barca for PSG four years ago, with his £198 million switch smashing the world transfer record.
Of course, he instead ended up reunited with Lionel Messi by staying exactly where he was. The true extent of Barca's financial difficulties was laid bare as they had to let their biggest superstar walk away at the end of his contract.
Given that very acute crisis, it feels absolutely absurd that a move for Neymar could have been in the offing, but, according Le10Sport (via Daily Star), the Catalan giants had a £68 million bid for the forward turned down.
Laporta confirmed that Barca did make an approach, telling Esport3: "We tried to sign Neymar. From the conversations that we had, bringing him here seemed like an attractive proposition and he was keen to come."
However, he then bemoaned La Liga's financial rules - the very rules which Barca's wild spending saw them fall foul of - adding: "We interpreted fair play differently, but based on the way [La Liga president Javier] Tebas interprets it, there was no point in making that offer."
So which is it, Joan? Did you really try to sign him or not?
Then again, does it matter? There was a point where Barca were unable to register the signings they actually did make, never mind Neymar, who in May signed a new deal worth a reported £500,000 a week - which makes Barca's apparent interest seem all the more mad.
Football, huh?
Subscribe to FourFourTwo today! Guarantee the finest football stories and interviews dropping on your doorstep first every month.
NOW READ
TV BLACKOUT Why can't you watch Saturday 3pm Premier League games in the UK?
TRANSFERS 20 big stars out of contract next summer
QUIZ! Can you name all the clubs in this season's Champions League?
