According to Bleacher Report and multiple other sources, Neymar Sr and Jr were offered upwards of 150 million euros to sign with their club rather then with FC Barcelona. However, as we have seen play out with the signing of Neymar to FC, Neymar had an affection for the Barcelona club. He preferred them much more, in fact, that he accepted a contract with Barcelona that would earn him just 80 million euros over the same time period.
This decision could have been weighed by some kind of preference of Catalonia over Spain, the opportunity to play with Messi (who is more humble and willing to share the spotlight then Christiano Ronaldo), the teams incredible history of success and respectability, the type of fans he perceives Barcelona to have, the fact that FC Barcelona showed interest in signing him first, or a variety of other things. Regardless of his motivation, he ignored the business side of soccer and didn’t allow himself to be bought out. This decision has worked out very well for him and FC so far: Neymar has scored 8 goals in 8 games this season, and has tallied 6 assists.
When players are loyal to their teams and willing to take pay cuts to resign with them, allowing money to be used to bring in other talent, or in this case when a player isn’t even loyal to a team but just chooses it for what it represents, it gives the impression that many players admire the club side of sport. Futbol players are proud of who they play for and proud to be part of their respective leagues, especially those among FC Barcelona.
It is the owners, offering extraordinary amounts of money to pull players away from their rivals, that are making futbol a business and that are harming the club aspect of the sport.
What do you think about this? Comment below.
source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2216965-neymars-father-says-real-madrid-offered-eur150-million-for-barcelona-star
FC Barcelona: Club or Business? 