At first, it looked simple: The Brazil star wanted to leave Paris Saint-Germain to return to Barcelona, and PSG were opened to selling him at the right price -- their price -- to Barcelona. Barcelona wanted him back too: In particular, his presence was desired by Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, perhaps hoping to reunite the world-class attack that yielded back-to-back La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys and the Champions League in 2014-15.

There was no need for a public fight between player and club, and there would be none of that drama either. Neymar enjoyed a good preseason with PSG, looking every bit involved and committed to the cause, smiling at times and bringing his brand of fun to the squad. He didn't play a single minute because PSG didn't want to take any risks that could have hindered his potential move.

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The drama began in Paris midway through the 2018-19 season, another tough campaign for Neymar. He suffered another major injury, following his broken metatarsal a year prior, and made just 17 Ligue 1 appearances. In January, he could only watch from the box seats at the Parc des Princes as PSG were humiliatingly knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United, who won 3-1 to overturn PSG's 2-0 first-leg win and advance on away goals.

When Neymar finally returned, he was fit enough to start against Rennes in the French Cup final at the end of April, in which PSG raced to a 2-0 lead inside 21 minutes -- Neymar scored the second -- but fell apart and went on to lose on penalties. After the game, Neymar slapped a spectator in the face and publicly criticised his teammates for their inexperience. Neymar was issued a three-match suspension for his postmatch punch.

By all accounts, this seemed to be the beginning of the end of his PSG adventures. Despite having three years left on his contract, the Brazilian had made his mind up. He wanted to leave.

At the end of May, the No. 10 skipped Ligue 1's end-of-season awards ceremony to party with Rihanna, prompting teammate Kylian Mbappe to demand more responsibility within the PSG squad.

At this point, the biggest star in Paris became the Frenchman, not the Brazilian, and Neymar could probably feel the shift. He started letting people know in private that he wasn't happy in Paris and that he wanted to go back to Barcelona. However, one big change at the club would unwittingly shape the whole summer saga: Leonardo returned as sporting director on June 14, six years after leaving the club. Instead of Antero Henrique, a figurehead regarded as ineffective and incapable of the role, PSG regained a leader, a tough negotiator and a strong character. The message from Leonardo was simple: Neymar could leave, but only on PSG's terms.

Two days after Leonardo's comeback, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the PSG chairman and CEO, gave an explosive interview to France Football in which, for the first time, he opened the door to Neymar's departure.

It was an unprecedented move by PSG's owners, the Qatar royal family, to allow such a senior figure in Al-Khelaifi to speak on the record. Behind the scenes, they'd grown frustrated by Neymar's conduct, his injuries and the fact that he'd failed to take PSG to the next level. (The 2018-19 season, with just the Ligue 1 title won, was their worst since they took over the club in 2011.)

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Long before any official negotiations, Barcelona had been working to exert influence on the Brazilian and apply pressure for an eventual move. On June 18, for the first time, sources at the club confessed that a deal for Neymar would be considered and was possible.

Leonardo, PSG's reinstalled sporting director, refused to let Barcelona take advantage of the French champions. It was his tough stance that ultimately helped deny the deal. JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images

Before that, Neymar's return was not anywhere in Barcelona's offseason plans. Their summer strategy was simple: Secure Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie De Jong, add a left back (Junior Firpo), and offload some fringe first-team squad members. But the players were in contact all summer. Neymar wanted to come back, and Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez wanted him back. Messi, Suarez -- the pair went on holiday together in Ibiza -- and Neymar exchanged messages in the hopes of being reunited.

At the club, there were conflicting feelings about it. Some Barca directors didn't want Neymar back after his acrimonious exit two summers ago, while others knew that two years before the next round of presidential elections -- Barca "members" vote every six years on who will run the club -- it would be a great coup for Bartomeu to bring Neymar back. It would also, they knew, make Messi very happy as he began initial talks for a new deal at the club, so the Catalans started working on the structure of a deal. How could they afford Neymar after confirming Griezmann's move? They were confident they could do both.

In Paris, Neymar was late coming back from Brazil after the injury that led him to miss the Copa America. Despite a scheduled July 8 return date, he appeared on July 15, and his father claimed the club was aware of the delay.

By this point, tensions were running quite high, with PSG actively preparing for life without their superstar. Leonardo began looking at players to replace Neymar, making tentative plans as to how he could use the money from Neymar's exit to strengthen the squad. He held meetings with Thomas Tuchel. The German manager loves the Brazilian and wanted to keep him, but he understood the positions of the club and Neymar.

At the executive level, Leonardo, wanting to avoid a long saga, took charge of all negotiations. He spoke to Neymar's father, who told him that his son wanted to go. On July 9, Leonardo finally confirmed what everyone had known for weeks: Neymar wanted to leave and could leave if the right offer came in.

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Neymar wished to be reunited with Messi and Suarez, a trio that led Barcelona to unprecedented success in the time they spent together in Spain. AP Photo/Siu Wu

Leonardo put pressure on Barcelona, Neymar's former club. "If they want him, they can come now," he said in private, and on July 15, Neymar and Leonardo met for the first time. It was a short meeting, and both sides confirmed where they stood: One wanted to leave, the other was happy to let him go. There was no love there.

Leonardo and Neymar waited before having further talks; they also waited for Barcelona to make official contact. At that time, it was one of the few credible options for a transfer, given the money involved, and most importantly, it was where the player wanted to go.

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu insisted again on July 20 that Neymar was not available, but behind the scenes, he talked to PSG. He was seen as the main person at the club pushing for a deal. The next step was to get Barca players involved.

At the beginning of August, Gerard Piqué talked about the discussions between Neymar and his former teammates. Barca midfielder Carles Alena revealed that the whole dressing room wanted the Brazilian back. It's a familiar charm offensive. From there, the two Spanish daily newspapers, Mundo Deportivo and Marca, filled their front pages with Neymar stories, running polls showing how many fans wanted him back and reporting on Messi's desire for an official reunion.

The Brazilian traveled to China with the PSG squad for their summer tour but didn't play a minute of preseason action, though he did participate in off-field activities such as PSG's kit promotion. In the luxurious Raffles hotel in Shenzhen, Neymar had long chats with some of his teammates, who tried to convince him to stay. In return, he expressed how confident he was that he had played his last game for PSG and that soon, upon returning to France, things would finally evolve. And they did.

On Aug. 11, Leonardo confirmed that talks with Barcelona were more advanced. His stance was no different: Bring me what I want, and Neymar is yours.

What PSG wanted was simple: to recoup as much as the €222 million they had paid for the player two years before. A sale price of €200 million would have been optimal, but the club left room for negotiation. However, Leonardo and PSG had doubts about Barcelona's ability to pay that kind of money. Barcelona had spent heavily on De Jong and Griezmann in 2019, leaving them with little leverage other than offering players in the deal. Leonardo was prepared for that.

Real Madrid also entered the race. It was a blessing for PSG, who'd hoped for a bidding war between the Spanish giants.

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