“Neymar is one of the best and he’d be a great signing for Barcelona”

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Andres Iniesta believes that Neymar would be a great signing for Barcelona if they can bring him back to the Camp Nou.

The Brazilian has been linked with a return to his former club after leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

“He’s one of the best forwards out there, not just now,” Iniesta said at an Asics event in Barcelona.

“He’d be a great signing for Barcelona, another thing is whether it’s necessary or not. For me, he’s one of the best and he’d be a great signing.”

Iniesta himself is currently playing for Vissel Kobe in Japan and is thoroughly enjoying his time there.

“I’m feeling really happy at the moment, with hunger and excitement,” he noted.

“I love where I am, I’ve enjoyed this year a lot. This year stays with me and the next one and I hope to fulfil it. Then we’ll see.

“I don’t have long-term plans because this can change in a matter of days. What is important to me is this: being happy and playing football.

“I like the league that I’m in, I still feel like a footballer and I want to improve. Let’s hope [I’m in Japan] for many years, but there will be a day that it will have to come to an end.

“Will I retire here? I hope so. I’ve got two years left on my contract and I don’t know if I will have the strength to continue [beyond that]. We’ll see.

“The topic of coaching is something that I fancy [doing]. I would love to return to Barcelona at one point in my life, but that’s a prediction. Now I still feel like a footballer.”

Barcelona are in Saudi Arabia to play the Supercopa de Espana and face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals on Thursday night. There has been lots of criticism over the decision to increase the tournament to four teams and play it outside of Spain again.

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“I’m quite disconnected from what’s going on, but I’m still a little up to date. In the end, there are situations that change like the Supercopa has done,” Iniesta explained.

“In the end, everyone will try to win it and become the champions. You can agree with it or not, it’s always been the league and cup winners, but from now on it’s not a question of this.

“I don’t know if this will last forever, three years… I don’t know what the agreement is. We’ll see who wins it – I hope Barcelona do.”

Real Madrid await in Sunday’s final, but are they in better form than Barcelona right now?

“I wouldn’t know,” Iniesta intimated.

“Yes, it’s true that Real Madrid didn’t have the start they would’ve hoped for. Now, they’re [doing] better in LaLiga Santander.

“We’ll see if the [Supercopa] final is Barcelona vs Real Madrid. Barcelona continue being a very powerful team and I don’t think they’re inferior to Real Madrid.

“Barcelona are always the favourites for competitions. They have a powerful opponent in Atleti. Let’s hope they can reach the final.”

Lionel Messi will want to start 2020 with a trophy after picking up his sixth Ballon d’Or in 2019.

“It’s difficult to say something new [about Messi],” Iniesta said.

“He keeps outdoing himself, beating records; he’s more important than ever. It’s the best news for Barcelona that he’s like this. I hope that he can achieve the objectives that he has [in mind] this season.”

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