Barcelona president Joan Laporta has claimed that Neymar was keen to return to the club this summer, prior to Lionel Messi joining him at Paris Saint-Germain.

After four hugely successful years playing alongside Messi at Camp Nou, the Brazil international decided to leave the La Liga giants in 2017 and join PSG for a world-record fee of £198m.

Laporta has since confirmed that Barca were looking to re-sign the 29-year-old, who had been in contact with the club during the early stages of this summer’s transfer window.

“We tried to sign Neymar. It seemed like an interesting signing. He got in contact. He was crazy about coming,” Laporta told Catalan news outlet TV3.

“We interpreted fair play in another way at the time. If we had known all the rules [in La Liga], we would not have made that offer.”

Neymar, who is currently away on international duty, made a total of 186 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions, scoring 105 goals and providing 76 assists.

The Brazilian also claimed two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys as well as lifting the Champions League trophy in 2014-15.