Barcelona Transfer News: Neymar, Real Madrid Meetings Detailed in Latest Rumours

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez reportedly met with the father of Barcelona star Neymar to discuss a transfer on two occasions, and he was twice told the Brazil international would not be moving to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. 

According to El Confidencial (h/t Sport’s Josep Capdevila), Neymar Santos met with Perez in Madrid in December and again in Zurich in January, hours before the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

According to the report, Neymar instructed his father “not to listen to any offers,” and the meetings took place before the 24-year-old made it clear he had no intention of leaving Barcelona.

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Rumours regarding Neymar’s future have picked up again in the last few weeks, as the Brazilian has suffered a dip in form, and the Catalans have lost their huge lead in the Spanish top division. Per the Sun (h/t Calciomercato.com), Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested.

Per Capdevila, Real made a better financial offer for Neymar than Barcelona did when the player made his move from Santos to Europe, and football writer Rafael Hernandez doesn’t believe Neymar would let better financial terms dictate his decision this time around:

While most fans and pundits don’t expect Neymar to leave the Blaugrana during the summer, the ongoing saga has taken some odd turns in the past weeks. Per Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror, the Catalan media hasn’t been kind to the forward, pointing at his performances and reports of “off-the-field excess.”

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Photographs of him partying in London didn’t help matters, and per Malyon, Neymar reacted to the saga by taking to Instagram and referring to a Bible verse, which read: "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes."

Per WhoScored.com, Neymar has scored an impressive 23 goals in La Liga and added 10 assists this season, elite numbers that indicate his struggles may have been overblown. Here’s a look at some of his highlights:

He took on a leading role for the Catalans during the first half of the season, stepping up when Lionel Messi went down with an injury. When the Argentinian returned and Luis Suarez found his best form, the bulk of the attention shifted to those two, but Neymar still put in great efforts.

It’s a perceived lack of effort that seems to have angered the press and the fans, who recently voted in favour of selling the star if a club triggered his buyout clause, in a poll organised by Spanish outlet Sport (h/t Pete Jenson of the MailOnline).

A handful of solid performances would likely convince those same fans Neymar shouldn’t be sold, however, and Barcelona are unlikely to make rash decisions based on the player’s recent form.

Neymar remains one of the most exciting young talents in the world, and finding a replacement would be next to impossible. The Sun claims Barcelona are ready to move for Juventus’ Paulo Dybala if Neymar does leave, but the Argentinian joined the Bianconeri last year and won’t be leaving anytime soon.

Perez loves adding star players to his squad every summer, and Neymar would arguably be his greatest capture of the last half-decade. But unless the Brazilian makes a giant U-turn in the coming months, he won’t be plying his trade in the Spanish capital next season.

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