Teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar will apparently no longer share the field at Barcelona.
Messi posted a goodbye message to Neymar on Instagram on Wednesday. Neymar has been linked to French club Paris Saint-Germain for months in a reported $260 million transfer.
“It was a great pleasure to have shared all these years with you, my friend. @neymarjr. I wish you good luck in this new stage of your life. See you tomorrow,” Messi wrote.
The video includes background music and a photo montage of the duo wearing their Barcelona threads and hoisting many trophies.
Neymar, 25, joined Barcelona in 2013 on a five-year contract. He registered two assists, while Messi scored in Barcelona’s 3-2 win against rival Real Madrid on Saturday in an International Champions Cup matchup at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Barcelona’s next match is at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Camp Nou in Barcelona.
Neymar has three goals and two assists in three appearances this season for Barcelona. He had 24 goals and 24 assists last season for the club — and Brazil — and 40 goals and 27 helpers during the 2015-16 season for Barcelona and Brazil. Neymar had his most prolific season for the club during the 2014-15 season, when he scored 51 times and had 10 assists for club and country, with 39 goals for the Spanish side.
Luis Suarez said last weekend that the club will still love Neymar even if he decides to leave.
“It will be a pity if he leaves Barcelona,” Suarez said. “If he leaves, it will not change our love for him. We all want him to stay. He is one of the best three players in the world and we need to enjoy him.”
“As soon as he clarifies the situation it’s better for us and him. He will have his say when he is ready and as a teammate I will support him.”
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said he didn’t want to speculate on Neymar’s next move, but did say he sees “Neymar in the same place I have seen him recently — on the pitch with us.”
