Manchester United reportedly bid a record £140 million for Barcelona’s Neymar
The Times are reporting that Manchester United actually offered a mind blowing £140million for Neymar, Barcelona’s Brazilian striker who can’t stop scoring these days. The deal would have smashed that of Gareth Bale, who moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 and the Spanish club would have been forced to let the Brazilian forward speak with United as the offer triggers a release clause in Neymar’s contract.
You do have to ask the question, why on earth would Neymar leave Barcelona when he is playing at the peak of his powers and alongside, arguably, the greatest ever footballer in Lionel Messi. Neymar in his very short career thus far is already a European Cup winner and has amassed 46 goals in only 69 games for the national squad – a ridiculous feat for a player that turns 24 today. Although he wasn’t amongst the scorers (Lionel Messi got three and Luis Suarez hit four) in the 7-0 thrashing against former red Gary Neville’s Valencia, Neymar has notched up 16 goals in only 18 league games for the club – but still trails Cristiano Ronaldo (and now Luis Suarez) who has hit 19 goals.
Manchester United is the side that offered €190million for Neymar. He has two years left on his contract, but you can all be calm as my son if very happy here.”
– Neymar Sr on United’s bid
So, to the apparent bid. Neymar’s father – Neymar Sr – revealed during a court case this week that an unnamed club were willing to meet the demands of his son’s buyout clause – a whopping £140million, however – his son was very happy at the Catalan club. He later revealed to Spanish radio that it was indeed Manchester United who had made the world record bid for the player. Both Neymar and Neymar Sr are subject to a corruption case brought by a third-party ownership investment firm called DIS. Both deny any wrong doing, which leaves DIS out of pocket by £20million following the transfer of the player from Santos to Barcelona. This is really the only reason as to why Barcelona would ever let the Brazilian leave the club and in theory, would be the only reason Neymar would actually want to leave and get away. With United struggling to qualify for the Champions League and Barcelona sitting pretty at the top of La Liga – Ed Woodward and United may want to look at other more realistic targets in the summer.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should Manchester United focus on more realistic targets or continue in their pursuit of Neymar?
Neymar is brilliant.