Marcelo Teixeira, former president of Santos FC has recently revealed the details how he once blocked Neymar from joining Real Madrid back then, paying the Brazilian's father $1 million to stay in Brazil.
Now with Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar spent time on trial with Real back in 2005 before he was convinced to stay at Santos. In an interview with AS Teixeira shares what happened years ago.
"Neymar was blown away by the 'Galacticos,' but in time we were able to get hold of his father and make him an offer that earned him a million dollars. He quickly accepted," Teixeira said. "Keeping him was essential to Santos, and to what the side went on to achieve with him at the center of it. It was a difficult decision that I had to make on my own, but it was what had to be done at that moment in time."
The 27-year-old has been linked with Real Madrid this summer along with rivals Barcelona, who is set to escalate their offer in getting their former player back. Neymar was 13 when Robinho left Santos for Madrid in 2005, and his career could have turned out a lot differently had the Brazilian left for Europe that summer. In the Brasileiro Serie A, he managed to make a name for himself, eventually joining Barcelona in 2013.
According to the former Santos president, the club and Real Madrid didn't exactly get along in those days due to Robinho's departure. He was happy, however, and kept all of their rights to Neymar, adding that "relations were fine after that."
By now, everybody pretty much knows that Neymar wants to leave PSG so bad. Even manager Thomas Tuchel said that the player might leave, but recently told the media that they'd have to find a replacement first before Neymar is permitted to leave.
Despite Neymar's controversial behavior with his time at PSG, Teixeira was all praises for his former gem. He maintains that Neymar is one of the world's best football players because his individual talent is remarkable. He even compared the Brazilian with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Neymar joined PSG in 2017 for a whopping 222 million euros, which means that whoever wants to sign him next must match that amount or offer something close. Real is reportedly laying out all their cards to sign Neymar. Previously, they added Rodrygo Goes, Luka Jovic, and Eden Hazard.
