Santos Forward Neymar Signs $70M Deal With Barcelona, 2nd-Biggest In Club History

Brazilian footballer NEYMAR announced on his Instagram account that he signed up with Barcelona, according to SOWETAN LIVE. Neymar wrote on his account, "On Monday I sign (sic) a contract with Barcelona. I want to thank the Santos fans for nine incredible years" (SOWETAN LIVE, 5/27). In Madrid, Gemma Herrero reported Neymar "will play the next five seasons in Barcelona." The club announced at 3:30am Sunday on its website the agreement for the signing of the Brazilian forward. The signing will cost Barcelona €54M ($69.8M) (MARCA, 5/26). EL PAIS reported Neymar said that "playing for Barcelona 'is the realization of my dream since my childhood.'" Neymar said that Barcelona's DANI ALVES, Neymar's close friend, helped convince him to choose Barcelona. Neymar: "I thank God for what I am doing. To play with XAVI, INIESTA and MESSI is an honor. With Dani Alves as well. It was Alves who bothered me the most, in the good sense of the word, to play in Barcelona" (EL PAIS, 5/27).

EMOTIONAL FINAL GAME: ESPN reported Neymar "couldn't hold back the tears in his last match with Santos before joining Barcelona." He "cried profusely as the Brazilian national anthem was sung before the match against Flamengo on Sunday." Neymar said, "It was very emotional. The movie of my life since I was a little kid came to my mind at that moment." Neymar "played Sunday to wear Santos' jersey one more time and to hear the fans chant his name again. But when he was introduced, he was booed by the Flamengo fans dominating the crowd" (ESPN, 5/26).

SECOND-BIGGEST SIGNING: MARCA reported "Neymar has become Barcelona's second most expensive signing of all time." The deal with the player, his club and the companies involved in managing his interests "has been complicated," and the final agreed sum totals around €54M. Santos will receive an amount similar to that which Barcelona paid Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk for DMYTRO CHYGRYNSKIY." Santos "owns 55% of the player's rights, among those the federative rights which qualify him to compete in any league." The DIS Group owns 40% of the player and TEISA, with the remaining 5%, will have "more or less half the total amount to share between them" (MARCA, 5/27).