Bad news for Barcelona: Touted £200m transfer target makes big decision on future

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Amid ongoing speculation linking Neymar with a return to Barcelona, reports in France have claimed that he wants to stay with Paris Saint-Germain.

The 26-year-old moved to the French capital last year and has gone on to score 44 goals in just 49 games while winning a whole host of domestic honours.

SEE MORE: €140m duo prefer Barcelona move as Catalan giants hold crucial advantage in transfer battle

Injuries have limited his influence though, while as noted by Calciomercato, transfer rumours have never been far away when it comes to a possible return to Barcelona after such a successful stint at the Nou Camp.

His move to France arguably hasn’t delivered the results desired on an individual level, as Neymar wasn’t in contention for the Ballon d’Or this year, while PSG continued to falter in the Champions League last season despite Neymar leading their early charge.

In turn, it’s understandable if a possible return to Barcelona is desired, with The Express reporting that Barca had reportedly been prepared to splash out up to £200m on securing a reunion with their former Brazilian superstar.

However, the report adds, via Le 10 Sport, that Neymar has scuppered any hopes of that materialising in the near future at least, as he has decided that he wishes to stay with the Ligue 1 champions.

It remains to be seen how accurate that is ahead of the summer, but with the opportunity to continue to be a leading figure for PSG alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Gianluigi Buffon, it could be enough to persuade him to stay for the long-term project.

The French giants made it through to the knockout stage of the Champions League in midweek, and so perhaps much will depend on whether or not they can finally prove capable of mounting a serious bid to win the competition this season.

For now though, it appears as though if Barcelona had any hopes of prising Neymar back, he’s not interested in such a move for now.

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