Not only did Paris Saint-Germain beat Real Madrid to Kylian Mbappé in 2017, but they have another player in their ranks that Los Blancos have coveted for years.
In an interview for ESPN‘s “Canal do Nicola” show (via AS), Neymar Jr.’s former agent, Wagner Ribeiro, revealed several interesting nuggets of information, including the fact that Real Madrid would love nothing more than to bring the Brazilian to Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Ribeiro claims that he has had numerous discussions with Florentino Perez, Real Madrid’s president, about Neymar over the years and as recently as last year.
“I went to Madrid several times because Florentino had the dream of taking Neymar,” Ribeiro said. “Last year I was with him, in May, in his office, and he even told me that he still dreams of signing Neymar.”
According to Ribeiro, Neymar’s price tag is €164 million, which is considerably lower than the €222 million PSG paid in 2017, but he still considers the 28-year-old to be better than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“He is much better,” Ribeiro said. “I have never seen Neymar play badly. Every game he plays well.”
The news about Real Madrid coveting Neymar makes sense. Last summer, when Neymar was pushing for a move away from the French capital, there were reports that Real Madrid planned to steal him away from FC Barcelona.
Obviously, no deal was made and Neymar remained in Paris but if he is to leave this summer or next, it will be interesting to see if both clubs jump into the race to sign him.
The other interesting tidbit from Ribeiro’s interview is Chelsea FC, FC Bayern Munich, and Juventus FC were all interested in signing Neymar when he was at Santos FC, but he ultimately chose a move to the Camp Nou.
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