Manchester United Transfer News: Neymar Reportedly Seeking Barcelona Exit

Barcelona star Neymar is reportedly keen on leaving the club, as the rumoured Manchester United target seeks to become the finest player in world football.

That’s according to magazine Don Balon (h/t Will Giles of Metro), which stated the Brazilian is a player intent on escaping Lionel Messi’s shadow at the Camp Nou and becoming a big challenger for the Ballon d’Or award. The Red Devils are said to be happy paying what would be a world record transfer fee for his services.

There are few who would deny paying that kind of cash would be money well spent when it comes to Neymar. Here’s a look back at some of his finest moments from a remarkable 2014-15 season, in which the forward helped Barca to treble glory:

Neymar admitted to ESPN Brazil (h/t Sky Sports) earlier this season that there were some tentative talks with United representatives over a summer transfer and Jamie Jackson of the Guardian wrote the forward did flutter his eyelashes in encouragement at the Red Devils. However, a deal always looked a fanciful proposition.

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If he does want to become the main man at a club immediately, then that does change matters. After all, the former Santos man has certainly proven that he has the capabilities to fulfil a talismanic role within the Barcelona team as of late.

With Messi currently sidelined, the 23-year-old is relishing the extra responsibility alongside Luis Suarez at the point of the attack, as we can see here courtesy of the Champions League account:

Should Neymar want to move on in search of pastures new, then United would definitely be in the hunt. Not only are they a club that possesses the financial clout to be able to put together a package that could potentially bring the Barcelona star to Old Trafford, he would also become the catalyst of the Red Devils' front line.

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Still, it seems unlikely that the Catalonian giants would be willing to let a phenomenal footballer with such a bright future leave. According to Sport (h/t Ben Nagle of the MailOnline), although Barcelona are looking to renew the contracts of Neymar and Messi, it’s the former they see as a priority matter.

Even so, there have been few inclinations as of late that the Brazilian is doing anything other than enjoying playing alongside the likes of Messi and Suarez. The goalscoring statistics totted up by the trio have certainly been remarkable over the past year, per messistats (h/t barcastuff):

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Messi (54), Suarez (35) and Neymar (36) have combined for 125 Barcelona goals since Suarez' debut in October 2014 #fcblive [via @messistats]

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) October 28, 2015"

While it’s completely understandable Neymar wants to scale the summit of the game, leaving Barcelona now wouldn’t necessary make that honour an inevitability. By contrast, refining his skill set further at the Camp Nou and playing regularly alongside his illustrious attacking team-mates will enable that process to be expedited.

A move to United would come with a variety of accompanying pressures that could potentially suffocate his development in the short term. For the time being, Neymar is better off enjoying his football with Barca, and he will surely eventually fulfil his lofty ambitions.