Andre Cury reveals how Barcelona missed out on Vinicius Jr. – ‘Everything was ready for him to move’ | OneFootball

In a revealing interview with AS, top Brazilian agent Andre Cury, who was closely associated with Barcelona for years, opened up about the behind-the-scenes chaos of several transfer stories.

This included Vitor Roque’s transfer, a failed attempt to land Vinicius Jr, and the stunning reality behind Neymar’s choice to join Barça over Real Madrid—despite a staggering €100 million difference in offers.

Cury began by describing the bureaucratic nightmare Barcelona faced while trying to sell Roque, blaming La Liga’s financial fair play and the RFEF (Spanish Football Federation) for complicating the move.

According to him, despite a deal that would bring Barcelona €30 million in value, both La Liga and the RFEF obstructed the transaction, forcing the parties to seek FIFA intervention.

“You want to sell a player, and La Liga says you can’t. You want to buy, and RFEF says no. It doesn’t make sense,” Cury explained.

“From Brazil, we had to hire a lawyer in Madrid and go to FIFA to get clearance.”

Barcelona’s near-miss with Vinicius Jr.

One of the most eye-catching revelations came when Cury disclosed how Vinicius Jr. was on the verge of signing with Barcelona before Real Madrid swooped in.

“We met with Vinicius and his agents because they asked us to. Everything was ready for a Barça move,” Cury stated.

Barcelona missed out on signing Vinicius Jr.. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

“But in the end, his family and agents changed their minds. It was all very unclear, but respectful. That’s how football is.”

Neymar rejected Real Madrid’s €200M+ offer

Cury also dropped an absolute bombshell regarding Neymar’s transfer from Santos in 2013. He revealed that Real Madrid offered over €200 million in total to land Neymar—€100 million more than what Barcelona paid.

However, the player chose to fulfil his dream of playing for the Catalan giants.

“Madrid offered €100M more than Barça, including salary, transfer fees, and a €40M penalty clause,” Cury revealed.

“If I had been working for Madrid, maybe Neymar would have gone there. But I was with Barça.

“The payments weren’t annual, they were more in the form of bonuses. They offered him a lot of money, but Neymar came to Barcelona to fulfil his dream. That’s how football works,” remembered the agent.