Barcelona may have wanted Neymar back over the summer, but Vicente del Bosque claims half of their fan base would have opposed a deal and says he would never have considered re-signing the Brazilian.
Those at Camp Nou spent much of the last transfer window endeavouring to put an agreement in place for a familiar face.
Neymar had made it clear that he wanted out of Paris Saint-Germain, with a return to Catalunya after two years in France his preferred choice.
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Real Madrid were also said to be keen on doing a deal for a player who has previously starred in La Liga, but the Blancos also had to explore other options once it became apparent that PSG would not be dropping their demands.