Messi wasn’t happy with Griezmann buy, Barca immediately tried Neymar swap

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When asked most interesting transfer rumour you had information on that was completely legitimate but was never finalized, The Athletic’s journalist David Ornstein, a top source, delivered a quite exotic answer.

“Last summer I was told by a couple of people that Lionel Messi was unhappy w ith the deal Barcelona had in place to sign Griezmann and wanted Neymar instead – but the club had already committed to the Griezmann deal, so they were trying to immediately sell Griezmann on to PSG in exchange for Neymar.

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“No idea how true that was and obviously it didn’t materialise, but it was being talked about within the game.”

Back in July, once the transfer window opened, rumours started flooding, claiming that Barca did consider swapping the Frenchman for the Paris Saint-Germain player. Griezmann stayed, however, and is now looking to adapt at his new team.

As for Neymar, the Brazilian ended up staying at Paris Saint-Germain. Mundo Deportivo claim that Barca offered €150m plus Ivan Rakitic and Jean-Clair Todibo for the 27-year-old but the Ligue 1 outfit refused. Moreover, it seems like Barca still consider signing him next summer.

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