Denis Suarez says Barcelona knew Neymar was leaving the club even before Gerard Pique posted on social media that the Brazilian would be staying.

On July 23, 2017, Pique tweeted a photo of himself and Neymar with the caption "he stays" amid rife speculation over his future.

But just weeks later, Neymar made his record-breaking move to Paris Saint-Germain for a reported €222m.

It was a shock move to the fans of Barcelona, where Neymar had spent four seasons and scored 105 goals in 186 appearances, but Suarez says it came as no surprise to the other players.

"There was a moment when we already knew he was leaving. With the 'se queda' photo, we already knew he was out," Suarez, who played alongside Neymar in the 2016-17 season, told the Post United.

"We were in pre-season, and all the commotion surrounding Neymar's future caught us by surprise.

"But there was a moment when we already knew he was leaving. We started telling Pique he didn't have the balls to post it, and he did."

Suarez also revealed that there were attempts to get Neymar to stay and extend his largely successful time at Camp Nou, but they were unable to persuade him.

"There were close team-mates who tried to convince him to stay, and I also think he should have stayed.

"He was going to be huge at Barca. He was soon going to be number one."

Neymar spent six years at PSG, netting 118 times in all competitions for them before moving to Al-Hilal, where he struggled with injury. He returned to his boyhood club, Santos, in January.