'It's impossible' - Barcelona not expected to sign Neymar as Ligue 1 broadcaster makes transfer prediction

The president of Mediapro, the company that is set to broadcast Ligue 1 from next season, claims it is impossible that Barcelona will be able to afford to bring Neymar back to Camp Nou as the coronavirus crisis will have deeply affected their financial resources.

Neymar has long been linked with a return to Barca since departing the club for a world record fee of €222 million (£198m/$263m) back in 2017, with the player himself having agitated for a switch before the 2019-20 season began.

The Brazilian has never been far from the Blaugrana's plans since he left the club and is once again high up their wishlist for when the current campaign does eventually come to a close once Covid-19 is fully under control.

Inter striker Lautaro Martinez is also a target for the Liga champions but Mediapro president Jaume Roures, who is well versed in Spanish business, doesn't believe the Catalan club have a chance of putting together the money required to re-sign Neymar.

“The club no longer has the economic capacity to spend... I don't know how much,” Roures said of Barca in an interview with AFP. “It's impossible now.”

He added: “The crisis will affect the price of TV rights in one way or another. Likewise, paying players hundreds of millions of euros will be over. Firstly, because the clubs will no longer have the means, and secondly, because banks will not lend the clubs money with the same ease as before.

“This is all going to change and I think it's very positive.”

Footballers' incredibly high salary packets have long been the source of debate - even for those with little interest in the sport itself - with many feeling that players are paid far too much for the job that they do.

However, others believe that footballers are easy targets, especially in the current economic chaos caused by the coronavirus, and that the market dictates what players are worth and paid as a result.

Regardless of opinions on wages in the long term, football clubs are almost entirely on the same side when it comes to how to deal with the long-term effects of the pandemic, with players and staff alike being asked to take pay cuts in order to avoid severe financial problems down the line.