<http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/13/real-madrid-ready-to-drop-their-interest-in-gareth-bale-and-launch-bid-for-brazil-starlet-neymar-3756583/>

Gareth Bale’s future at Tottenham looks increasingly assured with Real Madrid turning their attentions to Brazilian superstar Neymar.

Spurs are ready to offer the Welshman a new contract believed to be worth £130,000-a-week and the PFA and Football Writers player of the year has dropped big hints that he is happy to remain at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham kept their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League alive by winning at Stoke at the weekend and go into Sunday’s final game of the Premier League season at home to Sunderland still chasing fourth spot.

Madrid have been vocal suitors of Bale but reports in Spain indicate that Bernabeu officials may spring the £59million release clause in Neymar’s contract.

The 21-year-old striker is also a target for Barcelona but the Catalans are unwilling to pay more than £25m for the talented international who has also been on Chelsea’s radar.

Madrid want to add another Galactico to their side as they seek to replenish a squad which came up short in both the Champions League and La Liga.

But it appears that Neymar is a more realistic, and probably cheaper, option than Bale who has been valued at £70million by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.

Sing it with me, lads: Oh Happy Dayyyyyy...

Knowing Madrid, I only have one opinion.. Why not both?

yeah rai:DD

HELLLLL YEAAAA! We don't need the prick!

the compensation for breach of contract is 40m Euro, i don't see RM giving 55m to Santos and 40m to Barça...
Neymar will cost for any other team 95m euros.

please do not sell Bale to RM :) hope he' ll stay in EPL.

There's an actual contract between Barca and Santos? That... seems unlikely, dude, I must admit. It may be a First Choice agreement, kind of like we have with Internacional, but I can't see a 40m fine for not selling to Barcelona.

Unless the people at Santos are really stupid, which I don't believe they are. ;)

10/10/2012 Neymar, the star obliged to sign for Barcelona?

Lately, his name thrilled fans of Paris Saint-Germain. Star Team Santos Neymar has triggered a wave of reactions by announcing he would be delighted at the prospect of change alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In Brazil, the idea of ​​an early departure from the International Seleção therefore logically surfaced, especially as new voices were raised to encourage the attacker to rally Europe before 2014.

If this scenario is likely to occur despite the desire to keep Santos until World Brazilian Neymar can he go somewhere else than FC Barcelona? While petrodollars Paris Saint-Germain have scuppered the transfer of Lucas Moura Manchester United, the club from the capital he may repeat the shot with Neymar? Nothing is less certain if we are to believe the Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo.

The paper tells us that a pact between the Blaugrana and the player indeed exist and that the agreement would require the player to pay a large sum of money if he and his team decided to negotiate a transfer with another formation until 2014. € 80 million, this is the amount in question. A whopping ensure that for once at Barca a favorable outcome in this case. But that's not all. The 2011 European champions have already made ​​a "down payment" of € 10 million to Santos in the framework of this agreement. And if the Peixe discards, the arrangement between the two entities require Santos to pay double for Barcelona in compensation. In short, if this is confirmed, Neymar will sooner or later lated player.

they are not stupid, Barça gave them the price they wanted and Neymar wanted to come earlier but Santos wanted him to stay, don't know why is it seems unlikely ? its a garantee for Barça to have the player.

But Santos surely would know that not only Barcelona would want him. Seems like they'd be stupid to enter into an agreement whereby they couldn't sell to anyone else. I'm not saying it's impossible, especially if it was only meant to run until 2014, but, it just seems like a really bad idea for Santos.

I don't know much about Spanish newspapers -- is Mundo Deportivo reliable?

Whoever pays 80 Million or more for Neymar will end up as a laughing stock (as Lodatz once said).

Madrid are far better off to go with Bale. Di Maria is incredibly inconsistent on the RW, and we need consistency. I don't want Neymar on our team, because it will take away the chance for Morata to rise from the academy to a first-team regular. I want Morata to be our first choice striker in the coming years. As for the Bale/Neymar saga, I want Bale to come to Madrid and Neymar to go to Barcelona. It will be basically two young foreign players coming in and helping CR7 and Leo, and it'll be interesting to see who performs better: the hard-built Welshman from Tottenham, or the tricky Brazilian from Santos. Who knows? Both of them may be flops, but we can't tell yet. Time will give us all answers. ;)

Neyemar is not Real Madrid style. No offense, but he ballhogs a bit to much. Madrid play very keen on passing and crossing, while Neyemar just runs and tries to score. Who knows, as Dynastian98 said, time will give us the answers.

@Lodatz this was post last year, so even if there is an agreement we don't know what will happen this summer...
spanish main newspapers : as (pro-Real) marca(pro real) mundo deportivo and diario sport ( pro-barça)
we can't talk about reliability in any of them when we talk about players transfer. i prefer Bale anyway.

"i prefer Bale anyway."

Hands off! ;p

Big mistake.... Neymar is even more expensive, no reason for this decision.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/transfer-zone/2013/05/14/3977724/neymar-to-bayern-is-a-done-deal-claims-former-santos?source=breakingnews&ICID=HP_BN_2

Bale is way better than Neymar. Paying this much money for Neymar you will expect too much from him that he won't provide. His Transfer fee shouldn't be more than we paid for Oscar. yes he is skillful, but I'm not sure he can cope in Europe. In Brazil it's different.

Neymar price is 42m (35.5 m£). Neymar is the most bankable player in 2013 ahead Messi and CR7. so even if it is a flop we won't loose a lot...

Mundo deportivo :

The FC Barcelona already in Brazil to tackle the final assault on the operation of the signing of Neymar. An expedition led by the director of the Catalan club football, Raul Sanllehí, already in Brazilian land to meet with the leadership of Santos FC and close the deal. The intrusion of Real Madrid in the operation and its breaker for Neymar (we speak of a total amount of 120 million euros by birlarle crack Barca) has made Barca tighten the throttle.

Thus the idea of the delegation Barcelona is trying to close the deal with Santos before the end of this week. Between today and tomorrow Barça representatives should meet in Sao Paulo with Brazilian club leaders and the environment definitely sign Neymar for the operation.
The Saints play this Sunday around the Paulista championship final against Corinthians. Neymar's team must overturn a 2-1 first-leg unfavorable.

@AlexBatak
Exactly as Alex said! Oscar was a much better deal when Chelsea bought him than Neymar at the moment. And just look how quickly Oscar has adapted to English play.

The thing about Brazil is that football there is dependent on STYLE. You gotta have a nice playing style to impress audiences and fans. Not EFFECTIVE playing styles. And that's what can kill Brazilians coming to Europe.
European football is all about the tactics. Even David Luiz himself stated that adapting to European football from Brazilian football is extremely difficult. If it doesn't turn out okay, you're screwed. Neymar may be thriving in Brazil with Santos, but how do you know he's going to be a success at Barcelona? Especially when you take into fact that Barcelona are one of the most tactically advanced teams in WF.

Don't get me wrong, I still think that Neymar may be a superstar in Europe. I just feel that he ought to have come earlier in his career, and that he needs some experience first. He's not a natural-born tactical player like Kaka, Ronaldinho, Oscar, Lucas Moura, etc. He's all about STYLE. So I'm concerned that Barcelona are going to pay 80+ Million for nothing.

I think he'll garner some success; I just think he's another Robinho, rather than the new Fenomeno.

@Lodatz

Exactly! Ronaldo El Fenomeno was one of Brazil's greatest ever players. I don't think Neymar is anywhere CLOSE to him to be compared so lightly.