Neymar's Father Says Real Madrid Offered €150 Million for Barcelona Star
Brazil and Barcelona forward Neymar was apparently the subject of a huge €150 million (£116.5 million) offer from La Liga giants Real Madrid before he moved from Santos to the Camp Nou last summer.
The player's father, Neymar da Silva Sr., appearing as a witness at the Spanish High Court on Wednesday in an investigation over his son's transfer to Barca, claimed that the 22-year-old preferred to accept a lower pay-packet to play for the Catalan side, per EFE (via AS).
Indeed, the Brazilian superstar did eventually make the switch to Barca in 2013 in a deal worth €57.1 million (£44.3 million), according to the club's website.
However, the terms of his move are somewhat murky—hence the current investigation—and Sky Sports reports that the deal eventually adds up to an outlay of over €80 million (£62.2 million) for the La Liga side.
It is undeniable that Barcelona ended up paying a lot of money for Neymar, but his recent form—he scored a hat-trick against Granada on Saturday—suggests it may have been worth it.
If Neymar Sr. is to be believed, however, it seems that Real were prepared to pay approximately double what their arch-rivals eventually shelled out.
Tancredi Palmeri of beIN Sports backs up the assertion from Neymar's father, and had the deal gone through, it would have smashed the international transfer record, a regular habit of Real's:
Los Blancos' £85 million signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham last summer is currently top of the list of highest transfer fees in footballing history.
It is clear that Neymar must have had his heart set on Barcelona, as turning down Real and no doubt a staggering salary would have taken significant confidence.
The young Brazilian has already looked an improved player in his second season at the Camp Nou, and alongside Lionel Messi and the soon-to-return Luis Suarez, the trio will be quite a force on all fronts this season.
Real have seemingly made up for missing out on Neymar, though, making the marquee signings of Bale and James Rodriguez in the past two summers, meaning La Liga's two biggest clubs both contain frightening quality in attack.
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