Marcelo Insists Neymar's Barcelona Past Would Be No Barrier to Real Madrid Move

Real Madrid defender Marcelo has admitted that he'd like to link up Brazil international Neymar in the Spanish capital, with Paris Saint-Germain's poster boy continuing to be linked with a move away from Ligue 1 this summer.

It's expected that Neymar will return to his former club Barcelona if he does leave Paris ahead of the new season, with club captain Lionel Messi believed to be pressuring the club into making the move a reality.

But Marcelo has insisted that his international teammate could be a perfect fit at Real Madrid, and the 31-year-old even risked upsetting people at the Santiago Bernabéu by claiming that Neymar is a better player than the club's new marquee signing Eden Hazard.

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"Neymar's an unpredictable player," Marcelo said, quoted by Marca. "When a defender has anticipated something, he's already thought of something else and he's impossible to defend.

"Having Neymar at Real Madrid would be a huge pleasure. Madrid have to do everything to sign the best players in the world and his past at Barcelona wouldn't be a problem."

"Eden's a top player," he added. "A player of high quality and, like Neymar, he has the quality to be in the top five. He's impressive. You can't compare them, but Neymar is better for me."

Former Chelsea talisman Hazard is just one of Real Madrid's six - soon to be seven following their agreement to sign Real Zaragoza star Alberto Soro - new arrivals this summer.

But the club have already splashed over €300m on new players ahead of the new season, making any move for Neymar largely just a pipe dream due to restrictions from Financial Fair Play.