Neymar has revealed that Real Madrid once made an incredibly tempting offer to sign him when he left Santos in 2013, with the club offering him a blank check, essentially allowing him to demand whatever terms he wanted. Despite this lucrative proposal, Neymar chose to join Barcelona, citing his admiration for the club and its star players, particularly Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi.
In an interview on the Podpah podcast, Neymar explained that while Real Madrid would have paid him significantly more—three times as much as Barcelona offered—his heart was set on playing for Barça, where he wanted to team up with Messi, who was one of the world’s best players at the time. Neymar also mentioned that Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Pérez, had always been a fan of his, but his decision ultimately came down to a desire to play alongside Ronaldinho and Messi at Barcelona.
Neymar’s choice to move to Barcelona instead of Real Madrid marked a key moment in his career, helping him to become part of one of the most iconic attacking trios in football history, alongside Messi and Luis Suárez.
