Neymar Reveals Real Madrid's Huge Offer To Reject Barcelona Move In 2013
Neymar Jr. wasn’t the typical Brazilian footballer who left the country as a teenager. The former FC Barcelona standout stayed at his boyhood club until he was 21 years old.
The 33-year-old recently shared details about his transfer saga, which eventually led to his leaving Santos for Barcelona in 2013. The attacker revealed that Real Madrid went all in to beat their La Liga rival for Brazil’s hottest talent.
Não existe um ângulo em que esse gol não tenha sido épico. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Q32TAFueCe
— Santos FC (@SantosFC) February 24, 2025
In an interview with Podpah, Neymar noted that Los Blancos didn’t put any financial limits on his signing and basically told him to name his price. However, his move to European football wasn’t solely driven by economic motives.
Real Madrid’s offer was a blank check, they told me I can have whatever I want... but I wanted Barça with my heart.
- Neymar Jr.
Moreover, Neymar revealed that he wanted to fulfill a football wishlist of his which was to play with Lionel Messi.
I’d have made three times more money at Real Madrid. Florentino always liked me. But Ronaldinho played there and I wanted to play with Messi.
- Neymar Jr.
🚨🇧🇷 Neymar: “Real Madrid’s offer was a blank check, they told me I can have whatever I want... but I wanted Barça with my heart”, told @Podpah.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 28, 2025
“I’d have made 3x more money at Real Madrid. Florentino always liked me. But Ronaldinho played there and I wanted to play with Messi”. pic.twitter.com/wfelgmK0Ri
Eventually, Neymar would get his move to Barcelona, where he'd play for five years. Then, in 2017, the Brazilian moved to Paris Saint-Germain, playing in the French capital for seven years.
After an underwhelming stint in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, Neymar announced in late January that he would return to his boyhood club Santos.
The Latest Real Madrid News
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe Under Fire For Handling Of SM Caen Ownership
Real Madrid vs Real Betis: 5 Classic La Liga Matches
Transcript: Carlo Ancelotti’s Press Conference Following Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey Win
Real Madrid Legend Sergio Ramos' Contract Details At CF Monterrey Revealed
Eduardo is an experienced freelance football writer covering Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG On SI. He also covers PSG for PSG Talk and French football for Ligue 1's official English website. He's contributed to NBC Sports' regional sports networks, including NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, providing in-depth sports content for those markets.