Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has played down the club’s chances of signing Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season. The Brazil international is currently in his second season with the French champions but there have been various reports suggesting that he is unsettled with the proceedings at the club.

Amidst this, he has been touted for a probable reunion with the Blaugrana in the summer and Bartomeu has pretty much ruled out the prospect, he told RKB: “I've spoken with Neymar, we've seen each other a few times, but his people have never told me he wants to come back. No one's called us about it. Neymar has a contract with PSG. It's his second season there and it's very difficult [to imagine] they want to sell. We didn't want to. We have the disadvantage of the [release] clause here. European clubs [can] take advantage of that. That's not the case [in France] so it's not possible for him to return.”

“The Blaugrana chief added that the club have pursued Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele“ over the past 18 months to overcome the Brazilian’s void and the Catalans must concentrate on the present than pondering over the past. Meanwhile, the Spaniard added that the club are making progress towards extending the “contract of Lionel Messi“ beyond the summer of 2021.

Messi had played through his entire career with the Spanish champions and Bartomeu is determined to keep the Argentine for the remainder of his playing days after having proposed another five-year contract on the table. The five-time Ballon d’Or is widely expected to put pen-to-paper on the proposed extension, although an announcement could be delayed until the end of the season. Barcelona are currently at the top of the La Liga table with a six-point advantage over Real Madrid.