Neymar clearly wanted to return to Barcelona over the summer, says fellow Brazilian Filipe Luis, with a domination of transfer gossip columns making it apparent what his future preference was.
The 27-year-old forward spent an entire window being linked with moves away from Paris Saint-Germain.
Various landing spots were mooted, but it quickly became clear that the South American was only interested in retracing his steps to Camp Nou.
Editors' Picks
No deal was done, with the deadline passing without PSG lowering their demands, and Neymar must now make peace with the fact that he has bridges to build in France.