La Liga champions Barcelona have agreed the signing of Santos forward Neymar da Silva Santos Junior.
Neymar
will sign a five year contract with Barcelona on Monday after spending
nine years with the Brazilian club. Santos had on Friday revealed they
have accepted two offers for the Brazilian with Barcelona being in the
fore front of the two bidders and Real Madrid assumed to be the other.
Neymar had taken his time to mull over the offers and has confirmed his
decision, writing on Instagram: “I’m here with friends and family and
they have helped me to write a few things here. 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’s
contract at Santos was due to expire at the end of next season and some
reports had suggested an agreement with Barcelona was reached as much as
a year ago.
In a statement released on Barcelona’s official website the
club confirmed that Neymar will be at the Nou Camp for the next five
seasons. “FC Barcelona and Santos have agreed to terms for Neymar da
Silva Santos Junior. The Brazilian forward will don the Blaugrana strip
for the next five seasons. The 21- year- old is one of the most
promising footballers on the planet.” Neymar will bid farewells to the
Santos fans at Sunday’s season- opening game against Flamengo.
He joined
Santos youth team in 2003 and later traveled to Spain to trial with
Real Madrid, the forward returned to the Vila Belmiro stadium where he
made his Santos debut at the age of 17 in 2009. Since the times of the
great Pele, Santos have enjoyed their greatest period of success with
Neymar, winning three straight Campeonato Paulista titles and Copa do
Brasil. In 2009, the club won the Copa Libertodores for the first time
since 1963 and Neymar emerged the South American Footballer of the Year
as well as winning the Puskas Award for the world’s best goal that same
year. Neymar is a superstar in Brazil; revered by most sections of the
Santos fans as a demigod or/an idol. His departure deals a big blow to
Santos fans, who had hoped he will stay till after the 2014 Brazil World
Cup.
In a statement, Santos also confirmed the transfer agreement and
disclosed they had made every effort to hold on to their playmaker.
However, they chose not to disclose the terms of the contract. “The
management committee of Santos FC announces that it has received
notification from the athlete Neymar Jr. advising 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 Jr. since mid- 2010, and implemented a
career plan that allowed his historic stay for several years, bucking
the trend of Brazilian football to quickly sell its greatest talent,
Santos FC 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. “More than an
idol, Neymar Jr. became a myth not only for Santos, but for Brazilians
and football fans around the world. “The club says goodbye for now to
its playmaker, wishing you much success in your new journey, certain
that Vila Belmiro (stadium) will continue being your second home,” the
statement concluded
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