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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Fraser Watson

Neymar makes 'dream' transfer admission as PSG look to slash wage bill

Neymar may be currently linked with a move to Manchester United - but there's only one club he's "dreaming" of joining as he recovers from ankle surgery - Santos.

The future of the Brazilian star appears to be in the up in the air, with reports in France implying he will be the main victim of PSG's desire to trim their wage bill. He has not appeared for the French champions since undergoing ankle surgery in February, with fans in Paris fearing he may already have played his last game for the club.

The 31-year-old is currently back in Brazil recovering from his operation, and was in the stands to watch Santos - the club where he began his career - play against Audax. And he later voiced his desire to one day return to the side he previously made 225 appearances for before moving to Barcelona in 2013.

"One day, I will come back. I will come back" he told Brazilian outlet Globoesporte. "It's great to come back to my house. I feel at home here, I'm so happy to come back after ten years. Unfortunately, it's a draw, I wanted them to win.

“I came here to support Santos and receive the affection of the supporters. It was the club that gave me everything, that opened the doors, to me and my family, that revealed me to the world. I am very happy and happy to be here. If I dream of it, imagine (how fans feel).”

Neymar is in his sixth season at PSG after signing for a world record fee of £200million. Four of the previous five campaigns have ended in a domestic title win, but the attacker is yet to elevate the side to the Champions League glory that the owners crave.

Neymar is out for the remainder of the season through injury (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

And he may not be the only club star heading back to a former club. Lionel Messi is also in talks to return to Barcelona, just two years after making the switch from Spain amid the Catalan giants facing a financial crisis.

His father Jorge has met with Barca president Joan Laporta as speculation mounts over his proposed return. The subject of their meeting centred around a special match being played at the Nou Camp to honour Messi once he decides to leave European football.

Despite his improved form in this campaign, like with Neymar, Parisians have directed frustration at the Argentinian playmaker after crashing out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage. Indeed, Messi was booed during the Ligue 1 defeat against Lyon earlier this month amid his uneasy relationship with the club's fans and hierarchy.

Speaking on his future recently, Messi said: “I don’t know what my future holds. As I said at the beginning, it’s hard for me to imagine, to think about things that could happen but I really don’t know what my future will be and it will be whatever it has to be, whatever God wants it to be, will be.”

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