We pulled out all the stops to try and get Neymar, reveals Oscar Grau

If reports are to believed then Neymar soon realised what a big mistake he had committed by leaving Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain, with reports emerging about his unhappiness in Paris mere months after he joined. However, this summer, the Brazilian was heavily linked with a move away and wanted a return to Barcelona, even going on to say as much. The Catalan giants wanted their prodigal son to return and despite adding Antoine Greizmann, they pushed for a move. 

Both clubs worked all the permutations and combinations to construct a deal that wouldn’t violate the FFP (Financial Fair Play) rules, but nothing that would suit either side emerged out of their discussions. The deal Barcelona offered was cash plus three players, where Ivan Rakitic would move to Paris permanently, and Ousmane Dembele and Jean-Clair Todibo would move on loan. The deal would also see Barcelona pay £130 million in two instalments. 

However, this bid was instantly rejected by PSG and by Ousmane Dembele, with him rejecting the idea of going to Paris. Now, in an interview reports the BBC, Barcelona CEO Oscar Grau has revealed that the club did everything they could to sign Neymar. He even went on to add that the La Liga giants want to try to find a way to be the best team and be sustainable.

"We made a very big effort to get Neymar," said CEO Oscar Grau. "We did everything possible. We made two offers, one including players and one without them but we got the feeling PSG never wanted to sell him. "We are not going to lose control when it comes to players. We want the best team around but we also want to be sustainable."    

Neymar finally returned to footballing action after missing the first five games of the season as he attempted to engineer a move back to Barcelona. Upon his return, he scored the winner for PSG as they defeated Strasbourg 1-0 at Parc des princes.