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What's the story?
Former Santos president Marcelo Teixeira has explained how he blocked Neymar Jr from joining LaLiga giants, Real Madrid, back in 2006 after the forward caught the attention of the European powerhouse.
According to Teixeira, a word with the winger's father was enough to persuade him to not join Los Blancos.
In case you didn't know...
Neymar was heavily linked with a summer move to Real Madrid after it was discovered that he is no longer happy at Paris Saint-Germain.
However, the Blancos' interest in the Brazil international dates back to 2005, when the then-teenager spent time on trial with the Madrid giants.
Neymar caught the attention of club coaches during the trial and he was close to following Robinho out of Santos to Madrid that summer, before Teixeira decided to block the move.
The heart of the matter
In an interview with AS, Teixeira detailed the role he played in blocking Neymar's (then 14 years of age) potential move to Real Madrid, having offered the player's father a deal that earned him a million dollars to make his son stay.
He said, "Neymar was blown away by the 'Galácticos', but in time we were able to get hold of his father and make him an offer that earned him a million dollars. He quickly accepted."
"My whole board of directors told me I was out of my mind, but we all knew Neymar was something special. Keeping him was essential to Santos, and to what the side went on to achieve with him at the center of it."
He added, "It was a difficult decision that I had to make on my own, but it was what had to be done at that moment in time."
"Santos' relationship with Real Madrid was problematic at that time because of Robinho's departure [from Santos to Madrid in 2005]. But in the end, we kept hold of our rights [to Neymar] and relations were fine after that."
What's next?
Neymar is currently the subject of an intense transfer battle between Barcelona and Real Madrid, with the likes of Juventus reported to have joined the race as well. It remains to be seen where he will ply his trade after the summer window shuts.
