RIO DE JANEIRO, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Barcelona on Saturday confirmed that Santos striker Neymar remains a target for the Spanish club and they want to have Neymar and Lionel Messi playing side-by-side.
Barcelona promised to return to its endeavors in attracting the star striker, offering a new proposal to Santos by the middle of the year.
Neymar's contract with Santos was recently extended, terminating after the conclusion of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Related to Messi, Neymar said that he hopes Messi continues to score goals at his rapid pace so that he can analyze his movements and replicate them.
Barcelona optimistically declared that they hope to united Messi and Neymar in 2013. The team will once again enter the dispute for the young star against archrival Real Madrid who has plans of its own to acquire the striker.
Neymar is currently Brazil's highest paid athlete, receiving an estimated 1.5 million US dollars per month. He returned to state his happiness with Santos, detailing that he has no intentions of leaving the team before the end of his contract.