For so long, successive summers in fact, it seemed Brazilian Neymar would return to La Liga side Barcelona and pair up again with Lionel Messi.
Now, as it stands, in the summer of 2020, there would appear far greater chance of the Argentine maestro moving to Paris than it would Neymar returning to Spain – and that was even before Messi handed in a transfer request a few days ago.
There’s certainly no doubt the 33 year-old is unhappy with the Catalans (not for the first time in his career, much to my surprise) and is seeking a fresh challenge.
Realistically, with time ticking, he only has a few more chances to add a fifth Champions League crown to his magnificent honours list too.
Yet the next stage of developments is going to be far from simple.
It would appear the Barcelona captain has considered moving away before.
In 2014, continual injuries, erratic team form and defeats to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey Final, and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and La Liga were hard to take.
Then, two years later, tax troubles unsettled him but, as the club went onto clinch the double, he decided not to leave, despite being handed a suspended prison sentence and fine.
This time though seems different. Very different and very real.
And the stance between player and the club seems at something of an impasse if media reports are accurate.
According to El Periodico, Messi is asking for a meeting with the club and is fully aware he cannot leave for free this summer, although does not want any transfer to be held to his 700 million euro release clause.
However, Barcelona are not budging from their position – they will not sell unless his release clause is met – and are refusing to hold talks with the player.
As a true professional, it is expected Messi will begin pre-season under new boss Ronald Koeman as scheduled on Monday.
But fresh from the ultimate embarrassment of a quarter-final defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich, could the unthinkable now finally happen and Messi leave?
If so, there are surely only two clubs in the world (Paris St Germain and Manchester City) who could afford him or who he would consider joining, outside of a return to his native Argentina.
What’s more, what exactly would the fee be?
When Neymar swapped Catalonia for Paris three years ago, Barca received a fee far higher than the Brazilian’s actual worth. Not that there’s any doubting his world-class talent, but Neymar has often been wanting or resorting to gamesmanship (for club and country) when things have not gone his way and remembered for that just as much as his footballing ability.
Even aside from the histrionics, with Barcelona supposedly struggling financially, it’s unlikely they could persuade Neymar to return but the cash rich Parisiens, runners-up in the 2020 tournament may be able to persuade the friends to be reunited in France.
Fans have long anticipated a reunion between Messi and Neymar – it would be a bitter pill indeed if it were to happen at PSG, with Kylian Mbappé completing what could be an unstoppable front three.
For City, meanwhile, you only need to consider the Pep Guardiola link.
Guardiola and Messi won two Champions Leagues together at Barca, and there may be a temptation to reunite for another tilt at the trophy. The Spanish boss remains an admirer of the best player he has managed and with seemingly unlimited resources, the club must believe it has a chance of signing him.
This SBOTOP observer certainly would think that is the more likely destination if Messi does leave the Nou Camp.
Yes, there will be much more debate and wrangling played out in the weeks to come. A lot of nonsense will be spouted too.
For example, only this morning Brazilian club Cruzeiro announced the signing of Messi on their official website!
One thing is certain, however.
By informing Barca he does not intend to show up for coronavirus testing at the club ahead of pre-season training, Messi has given the clearest indication yet that this most fantastic of partnerships is drawing to a close.
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