Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu Reveals What Compromised Their Neymar Pursuit

Barcelona halted negotiations over the transfer of Neymar when Paris Saint-Germain altered their demands, according to Josep Maria Bartomeu. (More Football News)

Neymar was heavily linked with a return to Camp Nou throughout the transfer window, with PSG publicly confirming the Brazil star wished to leave Parc des Princes.

Also Read: Neymar Set To Return For Brazil Vs Colombia, Says Tite

But no transfer materialised and Neymar will remain part of Thomas Tuchel's squad, with Barcelona president Bartomeu ruling out a move for the forward in January.

Bartomeu revealed negotiations were extensive, though only because PSG's sporting director Leonardo indicated the Ligue 1 champions would be willing to sell the 27-year-old.

However, Bartomeu has claimed a move for Neymar was never likely to come to fruition once PSG changed their demands.

Also Read: 'Neymar Return Would Be Bad For Barcelona'

"In the winter window he's not an option," said Bartomeu in an interview with Barcelona's website. "The planning for next season is done in January, February.

"That will be when we get back to talking about the topic. But [not] if PSG keep asking for such high figures.

"We heard Neymar wanted to leave PSG and there was a moment when Leonardo opened the door to negotiations, for other clubs too.

"But during the negotiations, when the new demands of PSG appeared, we said that they were unassailable. We decided to stop the conversations.

"It's a sporting decision. The technical team said we should try to sign him. He would have been an extra for the squad. We didn't arrive at a deal because we could not match PSG's demands."

Numerous Barcelona players – including Ivan Rakitic, Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho – were reportedly considered in a swap deal, but Bartomeu insisted those names were not put forward by his club.

"Barca never put names on the table, they are players that PSG put there," Bartomeu said. "We could not match their demands."

Though Neymar did not arrive, Barca did spend €120million on Antoine Griezmann, while Frenkie de Jong – signed in January from Ajax – completed his €75million move.

Barca have made an indifferent start to their LaLiga campaign, losing to Athletic Bilbao and drawing with Osasuna either side of a 5-2 win over Real Betis.