Neymar explains his choice of Barcelona instead of Real Madrid: “Obviously I wanted to play with Messi”

More than a decade ago, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid fought over the signing of a certain Brazilian sensation from Santos, called Neymar, and the Catalans ended up winning.

Both La Liga giants were eager to land the Brazilian icon who had become one of the biggest names in South American football at the time.

But it was Barça who prevailed in the summer of 2013 and reaped rich rewards from their acquisition over the next four years.

Neymar explains his decision to choose Barcelona over Real Madrid

Now, speaking on the podcast of another former Barcelona and Brazil great, Romario, Neymar explained why he chose to join Barcelona instead of Real Madrid.

“I don’t regret having chosen Barcelona instead of Real Madrid. I went there with my heart. Obviously I wanted to play with Messi! “Barça was the team that I loved.” said Neymar, quoted by Fabrizio Romano.

Continuing to profess his love and admiration for the blaugranaadded the current Al-Hilal superstar:

“I always looked, since the Ronaldinho era I always said: I want to play there. Happened”.

Reflecting on the transfer and how he ended up making the crucial decision, Neymar explained: “They were intense days. It was 2 or 3 days where I wasn’t even training, just going from my house to the office to figure this out.

“The people from Real Madrid called me on the one hand and the people from Barcelona on the other. Both presidents were talking to me. I couldn’t rationalize. I imagined playing for both…

“But then my heart spoke louder. “I ended up choosing Barcelona.”

Neymar talks about his first problems at Barcelona

The Brazilian forward also spoke about the struggles he endured at the beginning of his tenure at Barcelona and how Lionel Messi ended up helping him.

“I spent the first 6 months at Barça with butterflies in my stomach. I was like… ‘Fuck, I can’t dribble anyone, I can’t beat anyone, I’m doing everything wrong.’” Neymar recalled.

“There was a day when I was so desperate. I was going to rest. I remember it to this day, it was against Athletic Club, I entered the locker room angry with myself. I was playing so bad. I went into the bathroom crying alone thinking ‘What am I doing?’

“Then there was a knock on the door and it was Messi. He asked me: ‘Why are you crying? I said, ‘No, I’m fine, I’m fine.’

“Then Dani Alves came and Messi said: ‘Don’t worry, we are here to help you. We want you to play your best football like you did at Santos, without pressure. If you need anything, you can count on me.’

“After that, I had more confidence. More desire to play and everything started to go well!”

Neymar spent four successful years at FC Barcelona, ​​forming a deadly partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, and the trio even led the Catalans to a historic treble in the 2014/15 season. He left the club to join PSG in 2017 in a world record transfer.