'Zero' chance Neymar goes to Real Madrid, says father
And breathe, Barcelona supporters.
Amid never-ending speculation that his son could leave the Camp Nou for bitter rival Real Madrid, Neymar Sr. has come out to assuage those rumours. There is "zero" chance the lithe superstar would make the controversial move, according to Neymar's father.
"Barcelona own Neymar. He has a contract with Barca and any other offer that arrives must come in through them. He's still under contract with the club and they know everything that's going on," he told FOX Brazil.
"There's lots of speculation and it's clear he's become mixed up in all that. People know that there are various clubs interested in him for his football, but they don't want to say that he's talking to them or having any dealings.
"People have said 10,000 different things about my son. Neymar has a contract at Barcelona, and he has two years left. That's the only certainty. He has to obey that contract. Besides, he's happy at the club. The speculation will go on, like it has been for a while, but everyone's used to it by now.
"Go to Madrid? I think the probability is zero," he said.
Neymar's former agent, Wagner Ribeiro, recently talked up the interest of some of Europe's marquee sides, claiming Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, and Madrid were willing to pay the exorbitant €200-million clause to pry the 24-year-old away from the Blaugrana.
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Neymar's father distanced himself from Ribeiro when asked about the validity of his claim.
"We respect him a lot but, aside from myself, the only person who can talk about Neymar's career is Neymar himself."