French media criticize Neymar as Barcelona rumors intensify

The French media weren't too pleased with Neymar's performance against Manchester City in the Champions League, suggesting that the PSG star is now mentally all set to return to Barcelona.

Following recent rumors, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has made bringing Neymar back to the Nou Camp his top priority. Laporta is hoping to link Lionel Messi and Neymar one last time before Messi eventually leaves Barcelona.

Neymar wants to play with Messi again and today he sees that option closer in Barcelona than in Paris. The Brazilian knows that Leo is now more likely to continue at Barça for two years before eventually heading off to the United States. [md] pic.twitter.com/1pgMkcP2zB

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 5, 2021

"Neymar was catastrophic" - L’Equipe

Following PSG's Champions League semi-final exit at the hands of Manchester City, French media didn't take long to blame Neymar for their failure to reach a second consecutive final.

French outlets believe Neymar's lackluster performance against Man City was because he had no inspiration to play for PSG anymore.

French newspaper Le Parisien said the following:

“The Brazilian missed the semi-final completely. Without inspiration, he was never able to carry the weight of the team as he had done against Bayern. Disappointing."

Neymar (L) had a poor game against Man City. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

L’Equipe rated Neymar's performance a poor 3/10. They questioned Neymar's work-rate as he was constantly being out-marked by Manchester City's Kyle Walker. L’Equipe said:

"He had promised to die in the field, sadly he missed the match. Repeated turnovers, bad passes, risky choices, he couldn’t make any difference with his dribbling, especially against Walker.”

L’Equipe also added that Neymar was very selfish during the game and wanted to do everything by himself instead of trusting his own teammates:

“Neymar revealed his dark side against Manchester City, as unbearable as possible, he wanted to do everything on his own. Adding to this egocentricity a horrible ending where he sought to physically hurt the City players. Carried away by his emotions once again, Neymar was catastrophic."

Neymar slammed by French media and given 3/10 score in L'Equipe after poor display vs Man City https://t.co/fGrLKETHVl

— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) May 5, 2021

Since arriving from Barcelona in 2017 on a world record €222 million deal, Neymar has always been a scapegoat whenever PSG have played a bad game.

The 29-year-old Brazilian's contract expires in 2022. If PSG don't act fast, they have a solid chance of losing Neymar on a free transfer.

Neymar had a successful stint at Barcelona. Having come from Santos in 2013, the Brazilian scored 105 goals in 186 appearances for the Catalan giants. Neymar helped Barcelona win numerous trophies, including the 2015 treble, where they defeated Juventus in the Champions League final.