Brazilian club Santos have confirmed that their superstar striker Neymar will be leaving the club and the player will decide where to play.
The 21-year-old, regarded as former Santos great Pelé's heir, has been a target of top European sides for at least three years.
So far Santos had rejected all offers and improved his deal, which included sponsorships, to stay at the club and he often attended marketing events.
However, the port city club announced on Twitter on Friday evening that they agreed to a transfer for Neymar, giving him the right to choose which offer to accept.
Santos are trying to sell Neymar as quickly as possible because in six months the player will be able to leave the club without a transfer fee.
"In the face of the offers and the player's contract, the management committee of the club decided to sell the player," Santos said in a statement.
"We await Neymar and his father at the Vila Belmiro stadium to choose which proposal the athlete is going to accept."
Santos did not say which clubs made the offers, but the runaway lead candidates would be Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported that representatives of the two top Spanish clubs were in Brazil awaiting Neymar's decision.
However, there was no clear indication of how long Neymar would take to make his choice known.
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| Neymar is on the verge of joining one of two unnamed clubs, likely to be Barcelona and Real Madrid Photo: Reuters |
The 21-year-old, regarded as former Santos great Pelé's heir, has been a target of top European sides for at least three years.
So far Santos had rejected all offers and improved his deal, which included sponsorships, to stay at the club and he often attended marketing events.
However, the port city club announced on Twitter on Friday evening that they agreed to a transfer for Neymar, giving him the right to choose which offer to accept.
Santos are trying to sell Neymar as quickly as possible because in six months the player will be able to leave the club without a transfer fee.
"In the face of the offers and the player's contract, the management committee of the club decided to sell the player," Santos said in a statement.
"We await Neymar and his father at the Vila Belmiro stadium to choose which proposal the athlete is going to accept."
Santos did not say which clubs made the offers, but the runaway lead candidates would be Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported that representatives of the two top Spanish clubs were in Brazil awaiting Neymar's decision.
However, there was no clear indication of how long Neymar would take to make his choice known.
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