Ronaldinho Names The Player Who Can Fill The Void Left By Neymar

Neymar was officially unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player yesterday after his £198 million move to the French capital, and it's a monumental blow for Barcelona as they prepare for the new season.

The Blaugrana have lost one third of their devastating 'MSN' trident, and a player in the prime of his career who scored 105 goals in his four seasons at the club.

Neymar is near-enough irreplaceable and Barcelona have an incredible task on their hands in terms of trying to draft someone in who can fill the gaping hole left by the Brazilian superstar.

Image: PA

The likes of Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe and Paulo Dybala have all been heavily linked, while Barcelona are still very much in for Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, a long-term target.

And Barcelona legend Ronaldinho, who now serves as an ambassador for the club, believes his compatriot is the perfect fit to come in and replace Neymar.

Image: PA

"There are only very few players in the world who can replace Neymar - and I have said that I think Coutinho could play for them," he said, as quoted by Goal.

"He is at a level where he could come and fill the gap left by Neymar - but Liverpool will know his worth and after the fees of this summer it will cost Barcelona."

The Coutinho links to Barcelona just won't go away, with The Mirror suggesting that the 25-year-old's future at Anfield has been cast into doubt after he was left out of today's friendly against Athletic Bilbao in Dublin.

News has emerged that the Liverpool playmaker has suffered a 'slight niggle' - thought to be a bad back - and has been left out of Jurgen Klopp's squad for the trip.

Suggestions that the player missed training a couple of days back were soon played down:

Despite Barca's apparent strong interest, which has led to a £72 million bid being turned down, Liverpool Jurgen Klopp has maintained that his talisman is not for sale no matter what offer comes in.

Klopp said via Sky Sports: "If you say he is not available to be sold, where is the interpretation?

"The word 'not' means there is no interpretation. There is nothing new."

Should Coutinho stay at Liverpool? Would be the ideal candidate to replace Neymar at Barcelona?

Sound off in the comments.

Topics: Football, Barcelona, PSG, Philippe Coutinho, Neymar

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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