New Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said a mystery club tried to hijack a deal for Neymar at the last minute and likened the transfer to the Catalans’ ultimately unsuccessful bid to sign Alfredo Di Stefano in 1953.
Back then, Barca and Madrid both agreed deals for the forward but the Catalans lost out to their biggest rivals after the government ruled the Argentine was to play alternately between the two Spanish giants. Barca declined and the player ended up making history as part of the greatest Blancos team in history.
Some 60 years later, Madrid was also keen on signing Neymar although it was not named directly as the club which attempted to gazump Barcelona as the last minute.
“Some haven’t forgiven the player for choosing to come here when he could have earned more money elsewhere,” Bartomeu said in his first press conference as Barca president on Friday.
