Barcelona Sports Director Dismisses The Possibility Of Neymar's Return: Not The Time

Neymar is rumored to be returning to Barcelona after performing brilliantly at Santos and re-entering the Brazil national team squad (Instagram/@santosfc).

JAKARTA - Barcelona's sporting director, Deco, has dismissed the possibility of re-recruitting Neymar. He said that this was not the time for the club to think about bringing back the Brazilian forward.

Neymar, 33, returned to Brazil in January 2025, signing a short-term contract with his childhood club Santos after cutting his contract with Saudi Arabia's Pro League club, Al Hilal.

The main goal of returning to Santos is to restore performance in order to be able to play again in Europe.

The intention finally gave birth to a hot ball. In recent weeks, after Neymar impressed with Santos, rumors returned to Barcelona - which he left for Paris Saint-Germain with a world transfer record of 222 million euros in 2017 - strengthened again.

"Neymar is a phenomenon and the most important thing is that he is happy. Being in Brazil makes him happy and that's what he should have thought. For him, this is not a financial problem."

"I think if there was a situation in the future, it would be right for us and for him. The football team was built with balance and a cool head. :

"Neymar is a phenomenon here, doing what he wants to do here and winning what he wants to win. However, sometimes these stories don't happen again."

"This is not the time for Barcelona to think about Neymar or he thinks about (back). He is at his club, Santos, and that is the ideal place for him," Deco said in an interview with the Brazilian TNT.

Speaking earlier this week, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said it was not his job to make a decision on Neymar's recruitment and leave the decision to Deco.

Neymar has scored three goals and provided three assists in seven appearances since rejoining Santos in January 2025 after playing very minimally in 18 months at Al Hilal due to injury.

His good performance with Santos brought him back on the Brazilian National Team final list for the 2026 World Cup Qualification which Dorival Junior announced on Thursday, March 6, 2025. In March 2025, the Samba Team will face Colombia and Argentina.

He has not appeared for Selecao since October 2023, when he suffered an anterior ligament injury and was in charge of the match against Uruguay.

"I hope he returns to the national team. People who like football like him, he is happy again," said Deco.