Lionel Messi begged Neymar to seal his Barcelona return following their Champions League exit to Liverpool .
The Barca star also reportedly revealed he would be quitting the Nou Camp club in two years in a WhatsApp message to his former team-mate.
Barcelona stormed to La Liga glory last term but fell short once again in the Champions League.
The Catalan outfit threw away a three-goal first-leg lead at Anfield as Liverpool recorded a memorable 4-0 win to advance to the final.
Barca have not tasted success in Europe since the 2014-15 campaign when Neymar played alongside Messi and Luis Suarez.
Neymar topped the goalscorers charts, alongside Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo , in the Champions League that season with 10 strikes.
And it seems Messi had that on his mind following Barca’s exit to Liverpool last season.
In a reported WhatsApp text uncovered by France Football , Messi is said to have messaged Neymar the following:
“Only together can we win the Champions League. I want you to come back.
“In two years, I’m leaving, and you’ll be alone, you’ll take my place.”
That suggests Messi is already making plans to leave Barca with his current contract expiring in June 2021.
Barca are willing to offer the five-time Ballon d’Or winner a life-time contract but Messi has rejected the opportunity.
“It is true that Barcelona proposed to me a contract for life, but what I said was that I do not want a contract to bind me,” he said last month.
“I want to be fine to perform, to play and continue fighting for objectives. Being here can be for life, but not with a contract.”
As for a reunion with Neymar, the PSG star is likely to be making all the headlines once again next summer.
Neymar was keen to leave the Ligue 1 giants during the last transfer window amid interest from Barca and Real Madrid but neither team wanted to fork out the estimated £200m for his signature.
Barcelona and PSG are both on course to potentially meet in the knockout stages of the Champions League this season.
PSG battled from two goals down to draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday night to secure their spot, while Barca will be through if they beat Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening, or if both games in their group are drawn, or if Slavia Prague beat Inter Milan.
