Neymar battle of Real and Barca keeps pace

So, what was the vice-president of Santos doing in Spain? Odilo Rodrigues landed in Madrid on Thursday and the reasons for his visit vary according to who’s telling the story. In Sao Paolo, the official club version is that he’s on a family holiday to celebrate his birthday in style, even though the trip coincided with the final of the Paulista Championship. Meanwhile, the football media rumour mill insists that Neymar is on the brink of signing for either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

In fact, he probably had time to meet both clubs. Barça was in Madrid on Sunday for the clash against Atlético Madrid, giving executives from the Catalan club the perfect opportunity to seal the bid for Neymar.

Real Madrid has moved more stealthily, but with an equally firm step. In fact, as MARCA reported on Saturday, in recent months they have taken the lead in the transfer scramble.

The man pulling the negotiating strings is Rodrigues. Real Madrid’s latest move to try to sign the Brazilian international seems to have speeded up what initially looked set to be a long-winded process.

Although Neymar said recently that he intends to see out his contract at Santos, Rodrigues has admitted on several occasions that the club cannot afford to refuse offers of up to €70 million. According to a Brazilian TV show about sports, 'Globoesporte', the club wants €50 million, although they only own 55% of the player’s transfer rights.


/Marca.Com/