Neymar Jr. has revealed that Real Madrid once offered him a blank check to join the club, but he turned it down in favor of Barcelona because he wanted to play alongside Messi and felt a strong connection to the team.
The 33-year-old recently opened up about his transfer journey, which ultimately saw him leave Santos for Barcelona in 2013. He explained that Real Madrid made every effort to outbid their La Liga rivals for Brazil’s top talent.
Speaking on the Podpah podcast, Neymar shared that Los Blancos placed no financial restrictions on his signing, allowing him to set his own price. However, his decision to move to Europe wasn’t purely based on money.
“Real Madrid’s offer was a blank check, they told me I can have whatever I want… but I wanted Barça with my heart.”
Additionally, Neymar shared that one of his football dreams was to play alongside Lionel Messi.
“I’d have made three times more money at Real Madrid. Florentino always liked me. But Ronaldinho played there and I wanted to play with Messi.”
Neymar eventually joined Barcelona, where he spent five years before making a move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, playing in the French capital for seven seasons.
Following a disappointing spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, Neymar announced in late January that he would be returning to his boyhood club, Santos.
