NEYMAR’s former agent has confirmed that Chelsea offered him a fortune to sign in 2010.
The Brazilian burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old after a stellar debut campaign in 2009 with Santos.
Neymar was football’s biggest prospect to come through at Santos
Chelsea were heavily linked with his signature as Santos turned down a £20million offer.
West London had just won the Premier League and FA Cup double in impressive style under Carlo Ancelotti, scoring over 100 goals and playing fast football.
But despite their success on the field, a transfer never materialized.
Wagner Ribeiro, who represented the player at the time, revealed that Neymar had turned down a move to the Premier League.
When asked about Chelsea’s interest in 2010, Ribeiro told L’Equipe: “They offered him a lot of money but Neymar didn’t want to leave.”
Neymar would stay at Santos until 2013 before completing a blockbuster transfer to Barcelona.
But he could easily have signed for fierce rivals Real Madrid, Ribeiro revealed.
He added: “Florentino (President of Real) thought he had it.
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Neymar’s future at PSG has been questionedCredit: AFP
“He accepted an offer I made him. He was willing to pay Santos 40 million and do whatever we asked.
“His father asked him for time because Neymar preferred Barca. They sent three managers and lawyers and stayed there for 20 days.
“But Neymar didn’t want to go to Madrid, he wanted to play for Barca.
“Messi and Pique called him. He was close to Florentino and Madrid. Sandro Rossell, on the other hand, didn’t want me to take part in the negotiations with Barcelona.
“He left me aside and didn’t pay me a dime to transfer Neymar to Barca.
“They worked with André Cury, who reached out to Neymar’s father. You played it to me I have nothing to do with this transmission.”
Neymar shone in Spain for four years before joining Paris Saint-Germain in controversial circumstances.
But his future is once again in the spotlight as a move to the Premier League is once again proposed with Newcastle.
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