Barcelona star Neymar: I don't want to join Manchester United
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Updated 30/08/2015 at 09:37 GMT
Barcelona star Neymar has firmly ruled out a move to Manchester United.
Barcelona's Neymar gestures to a referee during their Spanish first division soccer match against Malaga at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, August 29, 2015.
Image credit: Reuters
The treble-winning Brazilian was reported to be a target for United in their ongoing search for a genuine superstar with the total cost of signing him estimated to be £240 million.
But although Neymar has confirmed there is interest from the Premier League, he has reassured Barcelona fans he does not want to leave the club.
“I want to stay in Barca despite the multimillion offers from England," he told the Sun on Sunday. "I don’t know anything about Manchester, I am outside all this and don’t listen to it. I am happy in Barcelona and the fans of Barca can be calm.”
The Sun on Sunday says Neymar’s agent, Pini Zahavi, attended last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.
WHAT DID THE INITIAL REPORTS SAY?
Manchester United were said to be in 'secret talks' to sign the Brazilian forward, who played such an important role in Barcelona's treble success last season.
The Sun carried more details of the story in a follow-up story:
MANCHESTER UNITED will press on with a £240MILLION pursuit of Brazilian superstar Neymar — and want him to be the global face of the club. United have to meet Barcelona’s phenomenal £130m buyout clause. Tax add-ons would push the transfer fee up to a world-record £165m. And Neymar would earn £75m over five years at Old Trafford — taking the total cost of the deal up to an eye-watering £240m.
But it seems even such a huge financial package has not convinced Neymar to leave Europe's best club team to help rebuild United.
OUR VIEW
Trying to sign Neymar was always a long shot, if indeed United harboured any real aspirations to do so. To be honest, the whole story reeks of an agent trying to leverage a better deal for his client - and as Sergio Ramos has shown, United can be very efficient catalysts in this regard.
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