Top Brazil agent confirms Real Madrid superstar nearly signed for Barcelona – ‘Everything was ready’ | OneFootball

In a candid interview with AS, renowned football agent Andre Cury opened up about his involvement in some of football’s most significant transfer deals in recent years.

Known for playing key roles in the transfers of top Brazilian talents like Neymar and Vinicius Jr., Cury shared a revealing backstory about how close Vinicius came to joining Barcelona before signing for their biggest rivals, Real Madrid.

The agent revealed that Barcelona had everything in place to sign Vinicius Jr. when the player was still a teenager.

Cury, who was working with the Catalan club at the time, explained that they had even held meetings with Vinicius and his representatives, and the decision seemed to be heading in Barcelona’s favour until things unexpectedly changed.

“We met with Vinicius and his agents. Everything was ready for him to become a Barcelona player,” Cury said.

“But at the last moment, his family and representatives changed their minds. It wasn’t a very transparent decision, but that’s how football works.”

Vinicius eventually signed for Real Madrid in 2017, although he was officially unveiled a year later after turning 18.

Real Madrid’s persistent chase for Neymar

Real Madrid made several attempts to sign Neymar. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Cury also discussed how Real Madrid had shown a strong interest in Neymar when the Brazilian was still at Santos. In fact, he revealed that Madrid were prepared to pay €100 million more than Barcelona to secure Neymar’s signature.

“Madrid offered €100 million more than Barcelona for Neymar,” Cury said.

“But Neymar chose Barcelona, with our help, of course. If I had been working for Madrid, maybe he would have gone there instead,” he added, chuckling.

Even after Neymar moved to Paris Saint-Germain, Madrid remained keen to sign him. During those talks, Vinicius was frequently mentioned as a potential part of the deal.

Cury noted that PSG valued Vinicius highly and often asked for him in exchange, especially when Madrid were pursuing both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

However, no agreement was ever reached. “PSG didn’t want to let go of Neymar or Mbappe,” Cury explained.

“And Madrid didn’t want to part with Vinicius. It became a situation of ‘I won’t give you this player if you won’t give me that one.’ PSG played it very smartly,” he noted.