Neymar to join Barca in July - newspaper

Last week Neymar signed an agreement in which he committed to link up with Barcelona after representing Brazil in June's Confederations Cup, Brazilian newspaper 'O Globo' is reporting.

This means that Sunday's clash between Santos and Flamengo in the opening weekend of the new Brazilian Série A season could be the 21-year-old's last appearance for his boyhood club.

However, Santos is believed to be in talks about the possibility of Neymar pulling on the shirt one last time after the Confederations Cup in order to say goodbye to his fans.

Neymar's contract with Santos expires in 2014 and includes a €65 million release clause. However, the club could stand to lose him for free if it doesn't offload him this summer and instead allows him to run down his deal. According to 'O Globo', the starlet's move to the Catalan capital could be confirmed as early as Wednesday, after the Santos board meets to analyse Barça's latest offer.

While the mercurial striker has been quoted as insisting that he wants to stay in Brazil, both the Santos coach, Muricy Ramalho, and the Brazilian club's directors have acknowledged that Neymar is destined to play in Spain.


/Marca.Com/