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Why Neymar did not join Real Madrid finally revealed

By Sourav Mahanty

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 01: Neymar Jr #10 of Paris Saint-Germain warms up before the Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and OGC Nice at Parc des Princes on October 2, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 01: Neymar Jr #10 of Paris Saint-Germain warms up before the Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and OGC Nice at Parc des Princes on October 2, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images) /
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Neymar has had an interesting career. He has enjoyed a lot of success, is one of the most famous footballers in the history of the game and when on form, is without doubt one of the best in the world. Yet, at the same time, there is no denying that he has not reached the heights that he was expected to. Could things have gone differently if he had joined Real Madrid instead of Barcelona?

Neymar had enjoyed a meteoric rise at Santos and by the time he left Brazil, every club in Europe had their eyes on him. Ultimately, it is Barcelona who ended up winning the race to sign him.

Neymar went on to have a great run at Barcelona, establishing himself as one of the global superstars of the game and winning everything that was there to win at club level, before leaving the club out of the blue in a world record transfer to join PSG.

Why did he pick Barcelona over Real Madrid when he left Santos though? Well, it looks like a conversation with Lionel Messi played its part. As reported by Marca, his former agent Wagner Ribeiro said:

"“I wanted him to go to Real Madrid, who sent him a contract to sign.“That’s when that conversation with Messi happened and he decided to join Barcelona.”"

Why Neymar picked Barcelona over Real Madrid

Ironically, rumours in the media suggested that one of the reasons that Neymar left Barcelona in 2017 was because he wanted to get out of the shadow of Messi and be the centre piece of a team himself.

It did not work out for either party. His exit pretty much ended Barcelona’s run as a Champions League challenger even though Messi was able to guide them to some domestic glory. On the other hand, Neymar has never found his best form since joining PSG, struggling with one injury after another.

Both Messi and Neymar play together, but at PSG now. On the other hand, Real Madrid have won five out of the last nine Champions League titles, so they are not expected to be losing sleep over the failed transfer pursuit of the Brazilian around a decade back.

Must Read. Real Madrid made transfer bid to sign Neymar confirmed. light

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