One of the most talented football teams in the world has gotten that much stronger as Barcelona has won the sweepstakes to add 21 year old Brazilian sensation Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, better known as Neymar. The star striker announced that he would be joining Barcelona shortly before his team, Santos played rival Flamengo on Saturday. Barcelona would later confirm the news on their website.
Neymar said the following on Saturday:
“It was an honour to have played for this marvellous team Santos. I am so happy I did. Every child has a dream, either to be a player, a dentist or a reporter. My dream was to become a professional athlete and I have achieved that. Today Barcelona is fulfilling my dream of going to a totally beautiful team.”
“The Santos fans are the only ones who have always supported me. I can only thank them and say ‘see you later’, because I will be back one day,”
Barcelona would release the following in an official statement:
“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.”
The signing ends a years long saga to sign the young sensation. Neymar was certainly amongst the most sought after players in the world and it was rumored that Santos had agreed to transfer deals with both Real Madrid and Barcelona, and giving the player himself the option as to which club he would sign with. Neymar had one year remaining on his deal with Santos, so it made sense for his home club to sell their young star now, and recoup as much as they could on the transfer market. It is unclear exactly how much it is that they will be getting from the Catalan giants.
Neymar would add to his words via his official website on Sunday, stating:
“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. Titles, goals, dribbling, celebrations and songs that fans created for me will be forever in my heart…
“I made sure I could play the match in Brasilia. I want to have the opportunity to once again take the field and hear the crowd scream my name … It is a strange time for me, sad and happy new challenge. May God bless me in my choices … And I’m always a Santos fan.”
Santos had to do some damage control of their own after their fans are understandably disappointed at losing the club’s best player. They also released a statement Sunday:
“After refusing a offers of many millions for Neymar Jr since mid-2010, and 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.”
The intrigue now moves on to how Barcelona will integrate the new star in the lineup. Already blessed with arguably the best player in the world in Lionel Messi, and a superb midfield duo in Xavi and Iniesta, it seems that this year’s Spanish Champions will be looking for more hardware next season.
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