The superstar left Barcelona in 20171 in a shocking move to Paris, and his career has not hit the heights expected since.
Brazilian super agent Andre Cury recently sat down with AS for a detailed interview where he spoke in depth about the various Brazilian prospects available in the market, the current crop of Brazilian stars, and Neymar Jr in particular.
Cury was one of the key mediators of Neymar’s move to Barcelona and even worked with the club as their scout in Brazil until 2020.
Neymar could have Ballon d’Ors at Barcelona, says Cury
Cury, who aslo represents Barça new signing Vitor Roque, began talking about the PSG winger by recollecting his days at Barcelona and the endless efforts Real Madrid put towards swooping him to Madrid.
“He was spectacular. Neymar has everything. Real Madrid never accepted having lost Neymar and have always been looking to sign him.”
“Vinicius and Rodrygo are great players, but they are not Neymar. When he was at Barcelona he was spectacular and I think he made a serious mistake when switching to Ligue 1,” he added, condemning the Selecao star’s decision to leave Catalonia.
He then went on to make a massive statement about the Brazilian missing the chance to win the Ballon d’Or, saying: “Neymar, if he hadn’t left Barcelona, he would surely have one or two Ballon d’Ors.”
Neymar’s departure
Cury then elaborated on Neymar’s shocking €222 million to PSG and attributed Barcelona’s sensational 6-1 win over the Parisians to be the root cause.
“I think he left because of what happened after the 6-1 match against PSG. Neymar had won that game practically alone and on the front pages of the next day the one who came out was Lionel Messi.”
“He has a very good relationship with Messi, of course. He didn’t want to compete with Leo because he loves him very much. From there all his friends told him that he was going to be wrong[if he left Barcelona], that in two months he was going to ask to come back, but you won’t be able to,” he added.
The Brazilian agent then highlighted the real reason why Barcelona inserted a €222 million release clause in Neymar’s contract, going against his advice.
“When Neymar arrived, I told them to put a one-billion euro clause, but they ended up putting one of €190 million, the first time. I asked them why it was so low to which they replied that it couldn’t be more than Leo’s release clause which was €250 million.”
Struggles at PSG and possible return to Barça
Cury was then directly asked if the Brazilian sensation regretted his move to PSG, to which he replied,
“Yes. He can’t speak for it now, but he does. Look at the confusion that there is now. There is no quiet or happy day.”
The 31-year-old’s career began on a downward spiral the day he left Barcelona. His quality on the field has never been in question, but repeated injuries have marred his time in Paris. Speaking about Neymar’s fitness, Cury said:
“Most of his injuries begin in Paris. In Barcelona, he had a problem with the metatarsal because of the boots and such.”
The superagent was asked what a 17-year-old Neymar would be worth in today’s market. He insisted that no European club would ever sell a player of such quality and refused to attribute a price tag for the same reason.
“In Europe, he wouldn’t be worth anything because the one who had him wouldn’t sell him. Barcelona lost him because it’s a club that I don’t understand. It happened with Figo 20 years ago, but luckily Neymar didn’t end up at Real Madrid.”
Finally, Cury was asked if the Brazilian could leave PSG to join Barcelona this summer. He did not rule out an exit for the player but admitted that the Blaugranas could no longer afford him.
“Today, Barcelona’s option is unfeasible because it has no way to pay it. Wages €50 million, net. How do you pay? It’s as if I offer you a plane for you, but you can’t pay for the pilot, the crew, the fuel. It’s something more or less like that.”
