The Terrible Idea Of Neymar To Barcelona Is What 2025 Needs

The stability at Barcelona had lasted too long.

After years of turmoil and confusion off the field, Hansi Flick’s calming presence on the Camp Nou touchline seems to have been absorbed into the team.

Manager of the month for three consecutive awards, Flick’s side is yet to lose in 2025.

New contracts have been agreed for exciting young talents like Gavi and Pau Cubarsí, while the Blaugrana sits on the top of La Liga.

The German coach is a positive person and relishes his team’s attitude.

“We are going for it in every game,” he told the press, “we want to show what we can do. The team’s mentality is excellent, their attitude as well, but above all the atmosphere. That’s what I like best.

“What I am really happy about is that we are united. Not just the players, everyone. That shows we are a great team. Everybody gives 100% to help the team and the players. I am in charge of managing it but there are marvellous experts surrounding the players. For the majority of the player to be in great shape shows you that, it’s not easy.”

The level of performance from Flick’s side has been so strong there has even been talk of a new contract, although the German has played down any deal being in the offing.

“I am not under pressure,” he said.

“I really enjoy working for this club, and I believe we have a lot of potential. We have very talented players coming through from La Masia. I still have a year left on my contract, and for a coach, that is a long time,”

Given the quivering wreck the previous incumbent Xavi Hernandez was reduced to by the end of his spell as Barcelona manager, the cool Flick exudes from the Barcelona hot seat is remarkable.

Flick’s style has always been low-key. He oversaw remarkable success at Bayern Munich by taking a collaborative rather than combative approach and appears to be following a similar tact in Spain.

But even the most laid-back managers need a healthy squad, as the German has admitted.

“It’s not just about eleven or twelve players, but the whole team,” he said.

“We have many options, which helps us control the workload of the players. Fresh legs are crucial, and having a deep squad benefits us.”

But, remarkably, the club would turn to a fading superstar with a past connection to the Camp Nou to help bolster its ranks.

It has emerged that Neymar, the man whose transfer pretty much single-handedly brought down Barcelona’s greatest era, might be returning.

It’s no secret that Brazillian has eyed a return to Catalonia like his pal Lionel Messi.

Indeed, it is a poorly kept secret that Neymar had barely been in Paris six months before trying to engineer a way back.

But given that he left Paris Saint-Germain for a spell in Saudi Arabia, where he played a remarkable seven times for Al-Hilal before re-joining his boyhood club, Santos, this would be an incredible move.

Yet expert transfer journalist David Ornstein confirmed in his regular column for the Athletic that he had information that talks between Barcelona and Neymar was under way.

“If I’m to highlight one, it would be Neymar,” he said of the most remarkable deal in the offing.

“The remarkable situation currently being explored and prioritized is a return to Barcelona. Nothing has been decided, but I’m told this would be his dream, and discussions are taking place between the Catalan giants and his camp.

“Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Neymar’s representative Pini Zahavi have a close relationship, and I think Zahavi also looks after Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick. Neymar’s big motivation will be the 2026 World Cup, and playing at Barcelona, in the rebuilt Camp Nou, has fairytale potential. A lot would need to happen for this to materialize, but it’s possible and a tantalizing prospect.”

Ornstein explained that the terms of Neymar’s Santos deal still gave him plenty of opportunity to join Barcelona if he could prove his fitness.

“His return to Santos from Al Hilal was on a short-term contract, so unless an extension is signed, he’ll become a free agent on June 30 — although I hear there is also a mechanism that would allow him to leave sooner for teams competing in the Club World Cup.

“It will all depend on his condition — physical and technical. The early signs look good, but let’s see how he fares in the weeks and months ahead.”

There’s no way around it. This is, on paper, a terrible idea for all involved. Barcelona is just about making its way past an era when overplayed elderly players shuffled about for far too high wages.

But perhaps I’m wrong, and it is precisely what the club needs to recapture those former glories.

If Flick can make an old Neymar work at Barcelona, he deserves even more credit than he’s getting today.