Barcelona finally lands Brazilian hot property Neymar

The waiting is over and FC Barcelona finally landed the catch of the season in the shape of South America’s hottest property, Neymar.

After Real Madrid came in with a strong bid and Santos accepting both of them, many Barcelona fans thought that the young striker might head towards the Santiago Bernabéu.

Instead, and after much debate and a final discussion with his family, Neymar will be wearing the Barcelona shirt for 5 seasons.

The 21 year old didn’t come cheap either. Barcelona finally convinced Santos to let the youngster go, who could have left in July for Nothing! The total amount spent on the operation will have cost the Catalan club around €54Million euros, 30M of which will go to Santos. That leaves 9M to be shared out between the agents André Curi, Marquinhos Malaquías and Wagner Ribeiro, 5M in variables, such as friendlies between Brazil and Barcelona and the 10M euros Barca had already paid some time ago to ensure the player came to the Catalan club.

Neymar had this to say on Instagram about the move:

“I’m here with friends and family and they have helped me to write a few things.
“I’m not going to hold out until Monday. My family and friends already know my decision.
“On Monday I will sign a contract with Barcelona.”

The 21 year old also had kind words for Santos:

“I want to thank the fans of Santos for these incredible nine years. My feeling for the club and the fans will never change. It is eternal!
“Only a club like Santos could give me everything I have experienced on and off the field.
“I thank the wonderful fans who supported me even in the most difficult moments.”

An official statement from the Sao Paulo club Santos read like this:

“The management committee announces that it has received notification from Neymar that he has decided to accept the proposal of Barcelona.
“The transfer of playmaker to the Spanish team will be sealed in the coming days.

“After refusing a offers of many millions for Neymar since mid-2010, and having implemented a career plan that allowed his historic stay in Brazil for several years, bucking the trend of Brazilian football to quickly sell its greatest talents, Santos finally agreed to sell.

“Every effort was made to keep him in Brazil as long as possible, even offering to renew the current contract, which ended in July 2014.
“At this time, however, it was not possible to compete with the terms offered from abroad, which affected the decision of the player to review his professional life.
“Due to the confidentiality agreement, and by mutual agreement, the terms of the transfer will not be disclosed by any of the parties.”

Neymar is now set to join Leo Messi in one of the most lethal strike forces Barca has ever had.