A few days ago, former Barcelona Sports Vice President Mestre was interviewed by Toni Padilla on the podcast. He talked about the behind-the-scenes story of Neymar leaving Barcelona and his subsequent desire to return.

■ Regarding Neymar's desire to leave Paris and return to Barcelona

Mestre said: "I feel very sorry that Neymar failed to return to Barcelona, because he is an extraordinary player. According to our plan, he should have been one of Messi's successors. And Messi also wanted him to come back, Messi said to me personally: "I hope he can come back." I completely understand, because if Messi is responsible for the one-on-one breakthrough, that is one thing; but if it is Messi and Neymar together, it is completely different. "Two hundred sure" (referring to Neymar not leaving the team) remarks

Shortly before Neymar moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, Meester once stated this: "At that time, even the players themselves did not know that he was leaving. I also spoke to a very important player in the team and he told me that they sat at the same table as Neymar at Messi’s wedding and Neymar never mentioned leaving. That’s why I said I was 200% sure. Later, as time went by, I understood the entire operation of Neymar's departure, including the involvement of Pini Zahavi. As for Pini, we all know who he is good friends with. "