Ernesto Valverde insists he has not held conversations concerning the possible return of Neymar to Barcelona.
The Barcelona manager dismissed speculation that the La Liga leaders' board had received calls from the Paris Saint-Germain star's father pleading with the club to buy his son back.
But Valverde was in no mood to entertain the report from El Mundo, instead distancing himself from the story and heaping praise on the Brazil captain.
"People tend to say big things about players at other clubs," Valverde said ahead of Barcelona's Copa del Rey clash with Levante on Thursday.
"He is a great player, had a great World Cup, but now he's at a different club, so there's nothing more to say about that.
"It's not a question of Neymar phoning. Nobody has phoned me.
"News stories always appear in the press. He's a PSG player and we respect PSG."
A 3-0 victory over Eibar at the weekend sees Valverde's side five points clear at the top of the table as they bid to defend their title.
Their bid for a treble continues on Thursday, with Levante holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg.
A testing few weeks awaits from the end of February though, with their Champions League last 16 clash vs Lyon sandwiching two tough La Liga games vs Sevilla and Real Madrid.
