I honestly thought Real Madrid would sign Neymar, admits Lionel Messi
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Lionel Messi has admitted that he did not want to Neymar to join Real Madrid but he expected the Los Blancos to make a move for the Brazilian superstar. The PSG star made himself the main talking point during the summer transfer window with his desire to leave but no move eventually materialized.
Lionel Messi tried to convince Barcelona's board about the possibility of Neymar joining their ranks again. They are both close friends off the pitch, but the Argentinian understands as well what the 27-year-old brings in terms of football skills, as he already shared the stage with him, winning the La Liga and the Champions League for Barcelona. However, despite that Messi feared that Real Madrid could hijack the deal and make Neymar their next marquee superstar alongside Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard.
In an interview, the Argentine went on to admit that he honestly believed if Neymar didn’t join Barcelona, then he would have signed for Real Madrid.
"I honestly thought that in this market, if he did not come here, he would go to Madrid. He was really looking forward to leaving and making a change, and he thought that Florentino Perez and Madrid would do something to sign him. I think so [he regretted the decision], shortly after he left he realised that he was wrong and that he had made a bad decision. It would be necessary to ask him, but knowing him and seeing what happened, I think so he regretted leaving,” said Messi reports Goal.
Neymar didn't sign for either Barcelona or Real Madrid and ultimately opted to stayed in France with no club able to match PSG's valuation, but with Barcelona bringing in Antoine Griezmann Lionel Messi now has someone who can help him the league title again and maybe, even a Champions League trophy.
