Paul Pogba will not join Real Madrid this summer, Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to sign Neymar and more: Transfer Roundup, 20 July 2019

Lionel Messi is behind Barcelona's pursuit of Neymar

Spanish football expert Graham Hunter has revealed that it is Lionel Messi who is backing Barcelona to sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain before this transfer window closes. As per latest reports, Barcelona have offered 2 players + cash to PSG and it remains to be seen whether or not the bid will be accepted.

On the Transfer Talk podcast, Graham Hunter said,

"Messi is a central player in all of this. Messi is not a stroppy player - people have portrayed him as such falsely. But when he sneezes, Barcelona catches a cold."

"Bartomeu, the president, has said before he leaves - and he must quit the club in 2021 at the latest - he wants to leave Messi renewed once more."

"Whether Messi is saying 'get me Neymar' or whether he's whispering 'before we sit down to negotiate, I want the front line reinforced with Neymar', the fact is: Messi wants Neymar back."

He also touched upon how Messi realizes the need to get more quality around him to make Barcelona's Champions League dream a reality. The fact that Luis Suarez, Messi and Neymar enjoyed a fruitful spell together at the Camp Nou is also a driving point.

"He, [Luis] Suarez and Neymar - even though they're different characters - are very friendly. Messi found a partner that understood him technically, who served him and who created masses of space. The last time Barcelona won the treble, they had that 'MSN' up front.

"It's clear Messi believes his route back to the Champions League isn't just Neymar specifically, but more people supplying goals around him. Messi is saying 'if you want me to sign a new contract, first renew Neymar'."

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Sripad