Neymar talk 'bad for Barcelona' as Ernesto Valverde calls for end of transfer saga

Staying put: Neymar
AFP/Getty Images
Ben Hayward14 September 2019

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde says persistent talk of Neymar is bad for the team.

The Barca boss has had to deal with questions on the Brazilian throughout the summer and admitted he was fed with the saga ahead of the close of the transfer window.

Neymar ended up staying at Paris Saint-Germain and Valverde was irritated on Friday when a journalist asked him if he had wanted to sign the Brazilian.

"Hasn't that finished?," he replied. "That's enough. He's a great player who is with another team. Speaking about those things is bad for the club. I don't like it."

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's Liga game at home to Valencia, Valverde was also asked if he had read Lionel Messi's interview with Sport this week.

"No," he said. "But I have heard things." And he played down a reported rift between the captain and the club after the 32-year-old had highlighted the need for a "winning project" at Camp Nou. "Everybody over-interprets him," he said. "We shouldn't give it much importance."

The 55-year-old also said he was not concerned by Messi's contract clause, which allows him to leave for free at the end of this season.

"I'm not worried at all that he could go," he said. "Everyone decides their future, just like the club do as well. As I have said many times, people want to see more things than he says."

Messi has yet to feature this season after suffering a calf injury on his return to training last month and he will sit out Saturday's game as well, while he could also miss Tuesday's trip to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

In Pictures | Osasuna vs Barcelona | 31/08/2019

1/22

"HIs scar opened a little and we're taking things calmly," Valverde explained. "He's on schedule with his recovery. I don't know if he'll be back on Tuesday, perhaps later. I don't want to create expectation. Tuesday will be difficult."

Asked if he was worried by the forward's lengthy absence, the Barca boss said: "He's important for us. We can't deny that. There have been moments without him when we have won games and the team has responded. He is decisive. We hope he returns soon."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in