BARCELONA are set to activate a Fifa rule to re-sign Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar, according to reports.
The Brazilian made a controversial £198million move to the French capital in 2017 after the Ligue 1 giants triggered a release clause in his contract.
Barcelona are ready to make their move for Neymar in the summerCredit: Reuters
Neymar made it clear last summer that he wanted to return to the Spanish giants and even went on strike to try and force through a move.
The two clubs could not reach a settlement over a fee and Neymar remained in Paris where injuries have limited him to 13 league goals.
But the Catalan giants are ready to return for his signature this summer after hiring top Belgian lawyer Wouter Lambrech.
According to ESPN, his task will be to exploit a transfer loophole that became known as the Webster Ruling after the hugely controversial transfer of Andy Webster from Hearts to Wigan Athletic in 2006.
Hearts had demanded £5m for Webster, who had been frozen out after a dispute with the club’s controversial owner Victor Romanov.
Webster invoked Fifa’s Article 17 to force through a move to England because he had served more than three years of his contract he was outside of FIFA’s ‘protected period.’
After an 18-month legal battle that reached the Court of Arbitration for Sport, it was decided that Hearts were due just £150,000 in compensation.
Barca have studied the case closely and believe that because Neymar will have completed three years at the end of the summer, they can use the Webster Ruling as a legal base to finally bring the South American genius back to the Nou Camp.
The Brazilian, has scored 69 times for the club since his mega transfer, including 18 goals in 16 games this season.
He scored 105 goals in 186 appearances for Barcelona and superstar Lionel Messi has already admitted he wants to come back to the Nou Camp.
Messi said: “He is really looking forward to coming back, he always seemed sorry.”
Andy Webster made the controversial move to Wigan in 2006Credit: PA:Press Association
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
