Real Madrid News
Lionel Messi convinced Neymar to choose Barcelona over Real Madrid in 2013
Neymar has become a hot topic in Spain right now as his trials over alleged corruption continue.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has recently revealed the club’s bid to sign the player a decade ago. He further stated that it was the player who opted to join Barcelona. Such has been confirmed by Neymar himself, as he thought of Barça as his ‘dream club’.
A new chapter in this hearing now sees Neymar’s former agent, Wagner Ribeiro, offer his side of the story.
The Brazilian, who used to be Neymar’s agent during his time at Santos, claims he had suggested at the time that the forward should join Real Madrid. But the player subsequently had a talk with Lionel Messi, who convinced him to join FC Barcelona instead.
“Once Real Madrid withdrew from the bid, Neymar had a conversation with Messi that was essential for him to sign for Barcelona,” Ribeiro said (h/t MARCA)
“I wanted him to go to Real Madrid who sent him a contract to sign. It was then that conversation with Messi took place and he decided on Barcelona,” he added.
There are reports that suggest Real Madrid had placed a much higher bid than Barcelona in their attempts to sign Neymar. However, Santos agreed the €40 million offer from Barcelona, which DIS, the investment agency that used to own 40 percent of the player’s rights, claims was part of the club’s plan to receive the revenue off the record.
DIS further claim that Santos and Barcelona worked together to hold several financial transactions that ultimately saw the Catalans pay much higher than the €40 million that was agreed upon.
But as the transactions were not part of official negotiations, DIS was devoid of the funds. As such, the Brazilian company has pressed some serious charges against not only Neymar’s family but the former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu as well.
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
