Neymar has once again been linked with a possible return to Barcelona, but his former agent, Wagner Ribeiro, believes that Paris Saint-Germain are the only club that can meet his financial desires.
Ribeiro first saw Neymar playing on an indoor futsal pitch at just 12 years old, and he discussed how, from 2012 onwards, Real Madrid and Barcelona began to battle it out for the Santos prodigy.
“Real [Madrid] were very insistent, but Neymar didn’t want to play for [Real] Madrid. He wanted to go to Barcelona,” Ribeiro, one of the biggest agents in South America, said in an interview with L’Equipe.
“[Lionel] Messi called him, [Gerard] Pique… But [then-Barcelona president] Sandro Rosell didn’t want me to take part in the negotiations.
“He left me out of everything because he didn’t pay me a cent for Neymar’s transfer to Barcelona. They even left me out of the celebrations because I was closer to [Real Madrid president] Florentino Perez.”
Ribeiro revealed how one year prior to Neymar joining PSG, a meeting took place with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi that ended up with the forward’s salary rising at the Camp Nou from 11 million euros per year to 28 million euros per year. Neymar would then make the move to Paris the following summer.
“He could no longer refuse. PSG paid Barcelona 222 million euros [in 2017] and offered him a net salary of 36 million euros a year. It is impossible to refuse such an offer,” Ribeiro noted.
The well-known agent also recalled when Neymar wanted to leave PSG and almost joined Real Madrid.
“[They] were willing to pay 300 million [euros], but Nasser [Al-Khelaifi] said that not even for one billion [euros] would he leave,” Ribeiro said.
Neymar’s former agent believes that PSG will go on and win the Champions League this year, with the Brazilian then going on to win the Ballon d’Or, and he doesn’t see a departure on the cards.
“Only PSG can afford the luxury of Neymar,” Ribeiro stated.
“Real Madrid have financial problems, Barcelona? Even worse. In Italy no club can compete, and Manchester United or Manchester City? I don’t think so.”