Neymar: Barcelona must resist the temptation to sign the Brazilian and back Ousmane Dembele

After having kept the crown of La Liga and suffered the last disappointment of the Champions League, Barcelona is headed again to the window of summer transfers with major projects.

Recent attempts to maintain their remarkable period of gold success after Guardiola have, in some respects, proved to be failures. Five Liga titles, four wins in Copa del Rey and a Champions League triumph followed the departure of the Spaniard, but these successes do not tell the whole story.

The times of The local cultures of superstars who emerged from La Masia to form the backbone of Pep Guardiola's all-conquered behemoth are almost everywhere in Catalonia, with Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi the last survivors of a dying race BarcaThe first team.

Sergi Roberto is the only other academic product to feature in Blaugrana's first team, alongside Carles Alena, a promising but largely overlooked. Modern Barcelona is a very different animal from the one that conquered Europe at the beginning of the decade.

Personalities such as Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, etc., had previously appeared within the internal talent band to conquer the success that defies the enormous exploits of the "Galacticos" movement of Real Madrid.

Nowadays, the economic model of Barcelona has adopted a relatively similar approach to that of its rivals. Since Guardiola left in 2012, the Catalans have invested huge sums to recruit external superstars to maintain their success.

The arrival of Neymar at Camp Nou through a transfer of value up to In 2013, € 86.2 million paved the way for a new era of major spending in Barcelona – an era that has become uncontrollable ever since.

The Brazilian's departure of 200 million pounds for PSG in 2017 was a blow to Blaugrana, given the level of influence that Neymar had exercised over the last four years on the Barca attack. The Spaniards responded with another huge contract: the signature Ousmane Dembele for £ 135.5 million.

The club's expenses have reached unprecedented levels, but they are far from over. The slow start of Dembele in Catalonia after its move from Borussia Dortmund was defined by inconsistent shape and injury, so the club once again plunged into the market.

Just six months after capturing Dembele's club record, Barca has surpbaded with the capture of £ 142 million from Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool's long-term target. Between Dembele and Coutinho, the Blaugrana seemed to have enough talent to replace Neymar.

However, 18 months after Coutinho's arrival in Catalonia, the picture remains largely identical. Coutinho, like Dembele, has failed to get to work, and Barcelona would be willing to unload the pair to help fund their last summer transfer package.

The club has already completed the capture of Frenkie de Jong for £ 65 million and Ajax's teammate Matthijs de Ligt should do the same with another deal that would probably exceed £ 60 million. sterling.

The Dutch duo, however, is only the starting point for mega-money projects from Barca. Recent reports suggest that not only are the Catalans willing to abide by Antoine Griezmann's release clause, but that they are also planning to sign Neymar again.

Moreover, in a vicious circle for Ernesto Valverde's club, Dembele and Coutinho could both be sacrificed to fund an initiative to bring back their former superstar to Catalonia.

The Barca attack has suffered from a lack of extra dimension over the past two seasons, like the one Neymar had previously provided to Camp Nou, with the La Liga champions appearing increasingly dependent on the brilliant duo but aging of Messi and Luis Suarez. .

Neymar has already achieved a formidable trio alongside his South American counterparts in Catalonia, but the front line of the Blaugrana just did not have the same advantage since the departure of the Brazilian.

It is not a coincidence that the last Barca triumph in the Champions League took place in 2015, during which Neymar played and scored in the final. They have not been able to reclaim the European title since his departure. They were defeated in the last season. .

However, bringing back the mercurial attacker would by no means be a simple solution, nor a simple solution for Barca.

At 27, Neymar is no longer the infectious and galvanizing talent that he once was in Spain.

The reputation of the Brazilian has accumulated significant baggage since his move to Paris and was deprived of his position as captain of the Brazilian national team for disciplinary reasons. He was recently charged with badual badault.

After citing personal reasons behind his exit from Barcelona two years ago, Neymar is simply not the kind of team player needed to revitalize the Blaugrana and carry out their attack beyond the days gone by. from Messi to the club.

The Argentine icon is wearing the captain's armband on his side more frequently these days, but his leadership qualities and team mentality have never been questioned, even to his prodigious childhood. .

Ousmane Dembele, meanwhile, is still only 22 years old. Despite the remarkable years of high-level experience he already has, and although he is already recognized as such, the Frenchman still has a lot to do.

A natural dribbler with a brutal pace, incredible power and a willingness to work hard for his team makes Dembele a much more effective solution than Neymar for attack problems Barca, who would provide more showman looking for the stage at this stage of his career. .

Neymar was fortunate enough to become the leader of the next generation of Blaugrana, but missed the opportunity in favor of great publicity, a big paycheck and a lack of satisfaction in Ligue 1 .

The Brazilian would not return to Camp Nou as the same force that had left for Paris two years ago and bringing Neymar back to Barcelona would ultimately represent a broken transfer strategy that would be devoid of any direction and integrity.

The current young Barca players do not seem to have another Xavi-Iniesta-Messi-esque culture on the horizon, but in Dembele, the club already has a young and prodigious talent that is still able to score.