Real Madrid News
Top Brazil agent confirms Real Madrid superstar nearly signed for Barcelona – ‘Everything was ready’
In a candid interview with AS, renowned football agent Andre Cury opened up about his involvement in some of football’s most significant transfer deals in recent years.
Known for playing key roles in the transfers of top Brazilian talents like Neymar and Vinicius Jr., Cury shared a revealing backstory about how close Vinicius came to joining Barcelona before signing for their biggest rivals, Real Madrid.
The agent revealed that Barcelona had everything in place to sign Vinicius Jr. when the player was still a teenager.
Cury, who was working with the Catalan club at the time, explained that they had even held meetings with Vinicius and his representatives, and the decision seemed to be heading in Barcelona’s favour until things unexpectedly changed.
“We met with Vinicius and his agents. Everything was ready for him to become a Barcelona player,” Cury said.
“But at the last moment, his family and representatives changed their minds. It wasn’t a very transparent decision, but that’s how football works.”
Vinicius eventually signed for Real Madrid in 2017, although he was officially unveiled a year later after turning 18.
Real Madrid’s persistent chase for Neymar
Cury also discussed how Real Madrid had shown a strong interest in Neymar when the Brazilian was still at Santos. In fact, he revealed that Madrid were prepared to pay €100 million more than Barcelona to secure Neymar’s signature.
“Madrid offered €100 million more than Barcelona for Neymar,” Cury said.
“But Neymar chose Barcelona, with our help, of course. If I had been working for Madrid, maybe he would have gone there instead,” he added, chuckling.
Even after Neymar moved to Paris Saint-Germain, Madrid remained keen to sign him. During those talks, Vinicius was frequently mentioned as a potential part of the deal.
Cury noted that PSG valued Vinicius highly and often asked for him in exchange, especially when Madrid were pursuing both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
However, no agreement was ever reached. “PSG didn’t want to let go of Neymar or Mbappe,” Cury explained.
“And Madrid didn’t want to part with Vinicius. It became a situation of ‘I won’t give you this player if you won’t give me that one.’ PSG played it very smartly,” he noted.
Real Madrid opted to renew Antonio Rudiger’s contract this past summer to keep him at the club for one more season.
The 33-year-old veteran defender, though, has not been performing at his best, with physical problems taking their toll and age starting to catch up with him.
As such, the expectation is that Los Blancos will not extend his contract again when his current one expires on 30 June 2027.
Tottenham eye Antonio Rudiger
And, according to reports relayed by AS, Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a free-transfer swoop to sign Rudiger in the summer of next year.
The north London club are understood to be keen on reinforcing their backline next year and see the German defender as an option, given his experience in the Premier League and the fact that he would be available for free in the summer.
So far this season, Rudiger has played only five games for Real Madrid, amounting to a total of 396 minutes.
The 33-year-old has even chipped in with two goals, including the all-important winner in the 4-3 comeback victory over AS Roma on Wednesday night.
Time to move on?
Despite Rudiger being a hugely respected figure in the Real Madrid locker room, he is currently the third-choice centre-back for Jose Mourinho.
After all, summer signing Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen have been preferred by the manager so far in the new season.
Moreover, with Eder Militao set to return imminently after a lengthy injury layoff, Rudiger’s game-time could be impacted further.
Given the situation and factoring in Real Madrid’s plans to sign another centre-back next summer, it is pretty much evident that Rudiger does not feature in the club’s plans for beyond this season.
As such, a separation of ways seems pretty likely when his contract expires, and Tottenham are now positioning themselves as early suitors to sign Rudiger as a free agent in 2027.
