'Dembele is better than Neymar!' - Barca chief downplays return for the Brazilian

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has insisted "Ousmane Dembele is better than Neymar" when asked about the Brazilian superstar returning to Camp Nou.

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There has been speculation Neymar - who left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 - could play again for the Catalan giants.

But Bartomeu refused to address the issue when asked in an interview on Spanish radio station Cadena SER, instead lavishing praise on 21-year-old Dembele, who was bought to replace the one-time Camp Nou idol.

The Frenchman's early progress following his €105 million (£90m/$199m) move from Borussia Dortmund was hampered by injury, with rumours about the prospect of a Neymar return never far away.

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But, when asked about Barca buying back Neymar, 27, Bartomeu said, via Sport: 

“I won’t say yes or no. I say that, with their money, Barca made a sporting bet.

"With that money, we went for players like Dembele and [Philippe] Coutinho. Dembele is better than Neymar. He’s at Barca and he is better.”

Neymar recently talked down the possibility of playing for Barcelona for a second time, telling Brazil's Globo TV via Sport: 

“I already accomplished my dream and everyone knows that was to play at Barcelona, my dream since I was tiny and I did it, so I feel a whole person."

And he refused to rule out the prospect of one day joining Barca's bitter rivals Real Madrid.

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He added: 

“Enthusiasm to play at Madrid? They are one of the best clubs in the world, any player Madrid wanted would be attracted to play there. I feel very happy in Paris, really good here, but nobody knows what could happen in the future.

“For the love of God, I’m not saying I will play at Real Madrid, calm down. I’m not saying that. Madrid are a very big club, any player with quality would like to wear their shirt.”

Neymar will miss PSG's Champions League last-16 second leg tie against Manchester United on Wednesday with a metatarsal injury.

The French side are 2-0 up going into the game in Paris.