Ex-Neymar Representative Reignites Barca & Real Feud Over 2013 Transfer With Bribery Claims

Neymar could have joined Real Madrid ahead of Barcelona back in 2013 - but his father was bribed into convincing his son to join La Blaugrana instead.

That is the view of Delcir Sonda, founding partner of Brazilian investment group DIS, who told Spanish news publication AS (h/t ESPN) that the Brazil superstar should have played for Los Blancos and not their bitter La Liga rivals.

Sonda claimed that former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell paid Neymar Snr. handsomely to persuade the then 20-year-old to move to Nou Camp over Santiago Bernabeu - even though Neymar himself had his heart set on join Real instead.

CHRISTOF STACHE/GettyImages

Sonda stated: "To be clear: Sandro Rosell bribed Neymar's father. This is the crime of corruption between private individuals that we accuse him.

"Real was the first to try for Neymar, and Neymar said 'Yes' - he even went through medical examinations in a clinic of a friend of mine. Real was willing to pay the 65m clause (in his Santos contract) and still pay another 10m on top of that."

Sonda's DIS earned a 40% share of the deal equating to around €17m from the supposed full fee of €57m, but Sonda's company has alleged that it should have earned a 40% share of the right transfer fee - thought to be around €86m instead - for helping to get the deal done.

Sonda's claim adds further controversy to the strange nature of Neymar's transfer from hometown club Santos to Barcelona in May 2013, and adds even more weight to Sonda's previous quotes describing Neymar's family as "traitors" that he made earlier this year.

It also adds more fuel to the fire that Neymar is being touted as future Real player despite the forward only making a world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.

Plenty of reports in recent weeks have alleged that Neymar wants out of the Ligue 1 giants already, and gossip columns have suggested that Real president Florentino Perez still wants to bring him to Spain's capital even five years later.