Manchester United have reportedly made a bid of £257million for Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar ahead of a potential world-record transfer.
According to Spanish news source Don Balon, this big news has reached Real Madrid, who could now match that offer as they also chase the signing of Neymar this summer.
The report explains that United are desperate for a marquee signing of this type, and it’s suggested they could help fund the move by offloading Paul Pogba to make way for the Brazil international.
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This follows another Don Balon report that claimed the Red Devils had set an asking price of around £128m for Pogba this summer, with the France international attracting interest from Real Madrid as well.
It would certainly be a game-changer if United could get Neymar, with the 27-year-old long showing himself to be one of the finest players on the planet.
Neymar may well feel the next step for him is to test himself in arguably the world’s biggest league, the Premier League, and it would be great for neutrals as well as MUFC fans to see him on these shores.
The former Barcelona star could be an ideal replacement for Alexis Sanchez, who has proven not to be the world class focal point United will have hoped when they signed him from Arsenal last January.
The Sun claim the Chile international could be on his way out of the club this summer for around £50m, so there is potential for the PL giants to raise the funds needed for Neymar and get some big earners off their wage bill.
It’s ambitious, but if they pull it off, United would undoubtedly be back in a big way next season as challengers for the title and for other major honours like the Champions League – though they need to make sure they qualify for the competition first!
If a £257m deal happens, Neymar would break his own record as the world’s most expensive footballer, according to BBC Sport‘s report from when he joined PSG in 2017.