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Thursday 17 January 2019 12:49, UK
Barcelona would "seize upon" a Neymar and Philippe Coutinho swap, if the Paris Saint-Germain forward became available, Graham Hunter has told the Transfer Talk podcast.
Neymar spent four years at Barcelona, scoring 105 goals in 186 appearances before he left the Nou Camp for Ligue 1 in 2017, becoming the world's most expensive player in the process. However, a return to Spain has been mooted almost since his arrival in France.
European football journalist Hunter said PSG facing a Financial Fair Play investigation into spending patterns may open the door for Neymar to rejoin Barcelona and a player signed to help replace him, Coutinho, could move in the other direction.
He told the Transfer Talk podcast: "They have great plans that if Neymar comes on the market, which is feasible because of his own personal preference and because PSG are still subject to stringent checks on whether they have or haven't breached Financial Fair Play.
"Philippe Coutinho was bought at a time when Barcelona were smarting from the way they had been treated by Neymar, they were short of answers, they set their hearts on the player and they wanted to give a very quick sop to their fans and sponsors.
"But it hasn't worked out the way in which either party fancied that it would. If there was an opportunity to do something with PSG, where Coutinho went to PSG and Neymar came back to the Camp Nou, then the people on the board would absolutely seize upon it."
Real Madrid were said to be interested in bringing Neymar to the Santiago Bernabeu last summer and had to publicly deny making a bid for him in July, but Hunter said their interest had cooled since the emergence of another flying Brazilian winger on the scene.
"It has been something of an obsession for [Real Madrid president] Florentino Perez," he said. "They had Neymar training at Real Madrid long before Barcelona had even heard of him and given that they thought they had struck a deal with Santos when he moved.
"There was consternation at Real Madrid that Neymar went to Barcelona and went on to play his part in a treble and form the attacking partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
"All of this meant that Perez never lost his desire to bring Neymar to the club until very recently when they tried to tempt him from PSG last summer. They were thwarted which infuriated Real Madrid. They didn't get a feeling that Neymar was willing to push his way out of PSG.
"Although he is very raw, Vinícius Junior is now 18 and was bought specifically when Perez said to his scouts in Brazil and football board: 'I want a Neymar replacement'.
"Vinícius is now a winger, enchanting the Santiago Bernabeu and helping them put aside their current troubles. So the competition from Real Madrid for Neymar, while not wholly evaporated, is now far less likely to be a factor."
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