Neymar was only one approval from Santos away from joining Real Madrid in 2013, according to his former agent Wagner Ribeiro, who believes the Brazil forward would have won the Ballon d’Or had he chosen to move to the Santiago Bernabeu instead of Barcelona.
Neymar’s transfer to Barcelona became one of the defining deals of the 2013 transfer window. However, the move could have taken a very different direction, with both Spanish giants competing for the highly rated Santos forward long before he left Brazilian football.
There had been years of contact, trips, negotiations and proposals from Barcelona and Real Madrid as the clubs attempted to secure one of the most promising young players in world football.
Ribeiro, who worked closely with Neymar during much of his teenage years and the early stages of his professional career, has now provided further details of the battle for his signature in an extensive interview with ge.globo.
He said he personally worked to take Neymar to Real Madrid and negotiated directly with the club’s president, Florentino Perez. According to Ribeiro, Real Madrid had effectively reached an agreement with the player and was waiting only for Santos to give its permission.
“Everything was agreed with Florentino, and Real Madrid’s lawyers were in Sao Paulo. We only needed one condition: Santos had to give its approval,” Ribeiro said.
The former agent admitted that he wanted Neymar to join Real Madrid, but stressed that the final decision always belonged to the player.
“I wanted him to go to Real Madrid, of course I wanted that. Because of everything. But the agent is not the one who decides; the player is,” he said.
Ribeiro travelled with Neymar to Barcelona for the forward’s presentation as a new player, but said his close links to Real Madrid left him feeling uncomfortable during the event.
“When I travelled on the same plane as Neymar to Barcelona for his presentation, they seated me as if I were an outsider. I did not take part in the celebration; I stayed in one of the corners,” he said.
Despite having tried to take Neymar to Real Madrid, Ribeiro does not question the choice the Brazil international ultimately made. Neymar went on to play alongside Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona, winning major honours with the Catalan club.
“He played a lot alongside Suarez, Messi, Xavi and Iniesta… There were only great stars there. He won everything. There is no regret,” Ribeiro said.
Paris St-Germain transfer
Ribeiro also revealed that he was involved in the early discussions which preceded Neymar’s departure from Barcelona, although his role had changed by that stage.
He said he met Neymar, the player’s father and Paris St-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in Ibiza to discuss a possible move to the French club.
“Nasser was offering him 25 million euros and we asked for 40. When Neymar’s father allowed it to leak that Paris St-Germain were paying 25 in Paris, Barcelona improved the offer and gave him 26. One year later, Neymar left for 222 million euros and ended up receiving 40,” Ribeiro said.
The agent added that Neymar’s decision to leave Barcelona was not motivated solely by money. He said the forward wanted a change of environment and had been promised that Paris St-Germain would build a team capable of challenging for major honours.
“Neymar wanted to change the atmosphere and he had a promise that Paris St-Germain would build a great team,” Ribeiro said.
Neymar joined Paris St-Germain from Barcelona in 2017 for a world-record 222 million euros. Ribeiro remains convinced that the player possessed the ability to claim football’s highest individual award during his career.
“If Neymar had played for Real Madrid, he would have won the Ballon d’Or. I have no doubt,” he said.
