Neymar Snr

Svengali father behind world-record transfer

- Keir Radnedge

On joining Paris Saint-Germain for the world-record fee of €222m, Neymar dismissed the importance of the finances and talked up “the project”. They have powerful ambition in common. For PSG this means winning the Champions League; for Neymar it means becoming the world’s number-one player.

Having extended his contract with Barcelona to 2022 less than a year ago, the Brazilian’s insistence on quitting Spain suggests that fleeing La Liga and the ongoing tax and legal problems was not an insignificant reason. It was a dark shadow nuisance for him…and also, of course, for his father.

Along with agent Wagner Ribeiro, Neymar Snr has long since learned how to drive the hardest bargain in town. Much of the brouhaha over Neymar’s sale from Santos to Barcelona – which brought about the initial downfall of president Sandro Rosell – concerned a murky web of secret contracts, image rights and offshore payments.

Neymar Snr had seen other talented youngsters promise much and fade fast. Easy money, praise and popularity had wrecked their dreams and prospects. That was not going to happen to his son.