Amid reports from Spain claiming that English Premier League giants Manchester United are prepared to sign Brazilian superstar Neymar this summer, former Real Madrid president, Ramón Calderón, has said he’s sure Barcelona will not let him go.
According to the Spanish newspaper on Monday, the Old Trafford club are willing to activate the release clause (€200million) written into the Brazilian’s contract to bring him to England with an astronomical £416,000-a-week contract offer.
But Calderon says it’s highly unlikely the 25-year-old star will leave the Nou Camp.
“I’m sure Barcelona will not let him [Neymar] leave,” he told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on Tuesday.
“He is playing very well now, we all saw that with his performance against PSG in the Champions League, but it’s all about the player.
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“With my experience from Real Madrid, with Cristiano Ronaldo and other big players, when they say they want to leave and they go to the president or coach and say, ‘I don’t want to play here anymore and please let me go’, then you have to.
“But it doesn’t seem Neymar is saying anything against staying in Barcelona.”
However, last week, the young Brazilian, who had developed into one of the world’s finest players since joining Barcelona in the summer of 2013, admitted he admired a number of Premier League sides – including Manchester United.
“The Premier League is a championship that amazes me,” Neymar said.
“I like the playing style and the teams. And who knows, someday, I would like to play at it, yes.
“I admire Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool — these are the teams that are always there fighting.
“And then you have high-level coaches like Mourinho and Guardiola. These are coaches with whom any player would like to work.”
