(BDCi) — Barcelona are confident of signing Neymar if and when he decides he wants to leave Santos, according to club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Neymar, 21, has been one of football’s highly rated young players for some time, with reports long having suggested Barcelona have agreed to a deal to sign the player after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
He has scored 129 goals in 209 appearances for Santos and has 27 caps for Brazil with 17 goals to his name.
Bartomeu told AS: “He is wanted by half the world. When he wants to leave Santos, the club (Barca) will be there to try and sign him.”
Barcelona defender Dani Alves, who plays alongside Neymar on the Brazil team, was quoted in El Mundo Deportivo as saying he hopes the transfer happens before the 2014 World Cup.
“If I were him I would come now to improve his tactical game in order to arrive at the World Cup in good shape,” Alves said. “He already knows what we have here because he has already got me to pass on all the details. However, I cannot pick him up and bring him here. If not, I would have done. It is his decision.”
Source: espnfc.com