Xavi 'vetoed Neymar's return to Barcelona'

Brazil's all-time record goalscorer signed for Al-Hilal earlier this week, but he had been rumoured with a potential return to Camp Nou.

Brazilian outlet Globo claims that Neymar did not receive a single offer from a European club though, before opting to move to Saudi Arabia.

New Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique told Neymar he was not in his plans for the season either, so a move to Saudi was ultimately the 31-year-old's only option.

The report states that it was Xavi who vetoed the move, refusing to give the green light, even though it is unlikely Barcelona would have been able to afford the player.

Barca recently had to quickly offload Ousmane Dembele and Franck Kessie in order to register Ilkay Gundogan, Inigo Martinez and Oriol Romeu before their season opener against Getafe, finances are that tight at Camp Nou.

Neymar was allegedly keen on the move back to his former club, but after the transfer fee and wages of his move were revealed, it is apparent why Barca may have struggled to afford it to begin with.

Al-Hilal paid PSG £86.3m and Neymar will receive a salary of almost £80m-per-year.

Kylian Mbappe was the subject of interest from the same club, who even had a bid accepted by PSG, but the French international confirmed he had no interest in moving to the Gulf state.

Now with Neymar gone though, it appears Mbappe will stay at PSG, despite a summer-long dispute over his future.

Xavi's disinterest in re-signing Neymar further illustrates his steely determination to do things his way as Barca.

It has since been revealed that his reluctance to give Ansu Fati regular first-team minutes will drive the player out of the club too.

For Neymar, his time in Europe is over for the time being, and he could make his Al-Hilal debut against Al Feiha on Saturday, alongside recent recruits Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Brazilian compatriot Malcom.