Barcelona in last-gasp bid to have banned Neymar back for Clasico

As it stands the 25-year-old is set to miss the blockbuster showdown at the Santiago Bernabeu after being shown the first red card of his Barcelona career for two bookable offences in a 2-0 defeat at Malaga earlier this month that badly dented their hopes of retaining the Spanish title.

"With the Appeal Committee (Spanish federation) dismissing FC Barcelona's appeal for the three-match suspension of Neymar Jr, the club will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (in Spain)," Barcelona said in a statement.

Neymar has already missed Barcelona's 3-2 win over Real Sociedad and will also miss Wednesday's game against Osasuna if the Spanish court (TAD) turns down the appeal.