21 hours ago in Soccer | KurtKingsley | 1796 respect
Real Madrid have in battle for Neymar for a long time, although Barcelona were hot-favorites for his signature since the beginning. Barcelona, who bought Neymar for €57 million, publically announced their pursuit for Neymar soon after the transfer window opened. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez later revealed that his side was forced to step back because “it would have cost more than €150 million”.
Rosell told TV3’s ‘Hat-trick’ program that Real Madrid tried to steal Neymar from Barcelona even after the player had cleared the medical test.
“When we reached a pre-agreement with Neymar’s father, the player had already passed a medical with Real Madrid,” Rosell said. “We joked that we could save ourselves the money of doing the tests ourselves. When we were already signing the contract, Madrid was sending emails to Santos.”
In the end Real Madrid settled for Tottenham Hotspur star Gareth Bale, a transfer saga that saw the Welsh forward become the most expensive player in the history of football. Although the exact amount of the transfer deal hasn’t been confirmed it is common knowledge that the deal towers of the Barcelona and Neymar had.
The transfer deal was a complicated saga between Barcelona and Neymar’s father, who also happens to be the young player’s agent. Meanwhile, the deal continues to be a source of controversy for stakeholders in Brazil, who claim that they haven’t received their due funds.
Rosell revealed that Barcelona wasn’t directly involved with such stakeholders, which is why they didn’t owe them any money. Well, stakeholders threatening to sue from Brazil believe otherwise.
“The investment fund which is claiming money from [Neymar’s] transfer is talking with Santos and the player’s father,” Rosell said. “We are staying out of it.”