Neymar arrived at Barça in 2013 from Brazilian club Santos. Neither the footballer nor the Blaugrana club, then chaired by Sandro Rosell, would reveal details about the price of the transfer or the personal terms, they only specified that it was a five-year agreement. Together with Leo Messi and Luis Suárez, the Brazilian commanded one of the best tridents of the century and was champion of the Champions League in the remembered treble of the 2015-16 season.
His time at Barcelona left a lot of light and a lot of sporting joy. However, after having won 10 titles in four seasons, Neymar decided to go to PSG in search of the prominence that Leo Messi monopolized in Barcelona. He later repented and tried to return. He didn't make it.
On June 3, 2013, FC Barcelona presented the Brazilian star on an unforgettable day at the Camp Nou. The expectation was maximum. Neymar was the Brazilian talent that Barcelona fans expected. And the response was overwhelming. His presentation brought together almost 57,000 fans in the stadium, a higher number than in 2009 with the coming-out of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The then vice president of Barça, Josep Maria Bartomeu, revealed that the price for the signing of Neymar was 57 million euros, and that he had a termination clause of more than 190 million.
In his first season Neymar scored nine goals in the League and 15 in all competitions. He debuted with the Blaugrana shirt on the first day of the League. He came on in the 63rd minute of Barcelona's 7–0 victory against Levante. On August 21, he scored his first official goal for Barcelona in the first game of the Spanish Super Cup against Atlético Madrid. The Super Cup was his first and only title in a year in which Barça, under the orders of Tata Martino, did not win anything else. The azulgrana team reached the final of the Copa del Rey, but lost 2-1 against Real Madrid, to which was added the loss in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
At the same time, in January 2014, the Madrid prosecutor's office began to investigate the price of Neymar's signing. The documents presented to the authorities showed that the information in the files was contradictory. On January 23, Rosell resigned from his position as president of Barcelona. A day later, the club revealed the official details of the transfer, showing that €86.2m was paid, with Neymar's parents confirming that they received a sum of €40m.
After Tata Martino left, Luis Enrique arrived and with him the signings of Ivan Rakitic and Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez. That year Barça achieved its second treble in history. Neymar finished the season with 39 goals in all competitions and 10 of them in the Champions League, being the top scorer in the top continental competition along with Cristiano Ronaldo Leo Messi. The attacking line formed by Neymar, Messi and Luis Suárez finished with 122 goals, being the highest number of a season for a Spanish team.
Messi's ligament injury kept the Argentine off the pitch for two months. By the end of November, after scoring a brace against Real Sociedad, Neymar had registered 14 goals in 12 league games. On December 30, 2015, he came third on the Ballon d'Or payroll, behind Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with 7.86% of the vote. He was included as one of the members of the Best Team of the Year. That course Barça finished the season winning two more titles: the League and the Copa del Rey, in a season in which the Brazilian did not score as many goals (31) as in the previous one but he did give more assists to his teammates.
The 16-17 season was his last at Barcelona. He won the Copa del Rey and was a key player in Paris Saint-Germain's comeback in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, scoring twice to finish 6-1 and advance to the quarter-finals. Although Messi scored one goal and Neymar two, the Brazilian felt that day that he would never occupy the space of the Argentine. He needed to be more protagonist.
Then PSG arrived. Like a gale. Willing to pay the clause of 200 million euros to take the Brazilian crack. Despite Barça's attempts to retain him with remembered phrases such as that of the sports vice-president at the time, Jordi Mestre, who went so far as to affirm that Neymar "will continue at 200 percent", or Piqué's "stays" on his social networks on The Brazilian chose to go to Paris after Barcelona's tour of the United States with Ernesto Valverde already on the bench.
"Neymar did what he had to do for an important reason. There are three superstars in the world of football: Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar. And they can't play for the same club," said agent Pini Zahavi, a key player in the march. from Neymar to PSG in statements to the Polish newspaper Przeglad Sportowy. In his farewell letter, Neymar pointed out that it was "an honor to play with the best athlete I have ever seen in my life." He ends with an "I love you" for Messi to make it clear that his relationship is and continues to be extraordinary.
The Brazilian left Barça a few months after renewing. An operation that led to several cross lawsuits. On August 11, Barça sued the Brazilian star for breach of contract. He asked Neymar to return the 20.8 million euros that he had already received from the premium for the 2016 renewal and the footballer claimed the 43.7 million that he had left to collect from it. The payment was due to be made in the summer of 2017.
The trial was held in October 2019 and the ruling, which came in June 2020, sentenced Neymar to return 6.8 million euros to Barça. But the former Barça player appealed the sentence and the club challenged the appeal. On July 26, 2021, FC Barcelona, again chaired by Laporta and Neymar, agreed to end the labor and civil disputes amicably.
Neymar never completely forgot the Barcelona club. He even offered himself twice to be able to return. His wish was to play again alongside Leo Messi at a PSG in which Mbappé also shines. Finally, both friends met again at the Paris club after the traumatic goodbye of the Argentine in the summer of 2021.
