Barcelona must choose between Neymar and Lautaro as they can’t afford to sign both, per ESPN report.

The report claims that Neymar is the preferred option. 

Bartomeu is keen on bring him back. However, some board members prefer Lautaro.

ESPN has learned that Bartomeu has placed his confidence in a Belgian lawyer, Wouter Lambrecht, to look into all possible outcomes. Lambrecht has worked for the club since 2017 and specialises in matters relating to FIFA, UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) — he has previously worked for two of those organisations, FIFA and the ECA. (Lambrecht was unavailable for comment for this article.)

A legal source with expertise on the situation has told ESPN that the first step is for Neymar, upon the completion of the third year of his terms, to “break his contract with PSG.” It’s at that point when FIFA’s protected period ends and he would have to inform PSG of his intentions within 15 days of the club’s final competitive game of the campaign. (The ongoing suspension of play across Europe would also complicate which game is considered their final competitive fixture of 2019-20.)

If Neymar does that, Barca and PSG would then have to sit down at the table with the aim of reaching an agreement. That was not possible last summer when the two sides last tried to do business. Barca came up with all sorts of formulas: a loan with an obligatory option to buy for a figure approaching €200m at a later date, cash plus player deals and even plans focused around paying the transfer fee in installments. Nothing satisfied PSG’s demands.

If the two clubs cannot reach a deal here, FIFA would try and resolve the case as they did with Webster. If either of the clubs disagreed with the ruling, they would then reserve the right to appeal to CAS.

The reality is that in trying a measure this extreme to get Neymar back to Camp Nou, Barca would be taking a step into the unknown.