Neymar 'not worth the trouble' says Barcelona great Stoichkov
Barcelona have been strongly linked with bringing the Brazilian back to Camp Nou, but "El Pistolero" insists it is a bad idea for squad harmony.
Neymar would be a threat to Barcelona's squad harmony if he returned to the club from Paris Saint-Germain, according to Blaugrana great Hristo Stoichkov.
Brazil star Neymar left Barca for PSG in a world-record €222million move in 2017, as the Ligue 1 side paid the forward's release clause.
Neymar's split from Barca was acrimonious – the club criticising PSG's conduct and disputing the player's loyalty bonus.
But, according to media reports, that has not stopped Neymar and Barça working behind the scenes in recent weeks in order to facilitate a move.
Neymar's position at PSG looks untenable after the club's ultras sang offensive chants about him during their Ligue 1 opener, while Barça are said to have offered multiple players and a transfer fee to secure his return.
But Stoichkov, who spent seven years at Barça across two spells, is adamant Neymar is more trouble than he is worth.
Stoichkov: "Where would Neymar play?"
"He would be a bomb inside the locker room," Stoichkov told Univision. "Barcelona don't need Neymar. He would have no space to play because they already have very important players.
"There are [Ousmane] Dembélé, [Antoine] Griezmann, [Luis] Suárez, [Lionel] Messi. Where would he play? For my part, I don't want him to come back.
"I'm sure there are players who want to come back and ask the president for his effort, but Barca isn't going to move a single euro to get him back. Barca doesn't have the money to pay PSG.
"There are [swap] options, but the players Barça is offering to PSG is disrespectful [to the players]. Firstly, because Ivan Rakitic is a great worker, a very humble lad who has never let his guard down and has always defenders the interests of Barcelona.
"And [Philippe] Coutinho cost a lot of money, but he has a lot of ability and I defend him, and hopefully no Barca player leaves."