El Flaco
Active member
Neymar Senior's (father to Neymar Junior) interview with Diari Ara
A thousand days of Neymar at Barça. Has it gone as you were predicting it three years ago?
Yes, with everything that Neymar has won, everything he’s achieved is a dream come true for my son. He’s at the club where he wanted to be since he was a kid and it’s a positive experience. We’ve learned a lot of things in Barcelona, every day, like the fact that success comes after winning battles. We’ll never be able to live a calm life here, but we’re happy.
And when he came here people weren’t sure that two captains could coexist on the same ship. Now there are three.
People can say what they want, I’m not bothered. Football is like this. Maybe what is happening how hasn’t happened before in the history of football. But, luckily for Barça, these three captains are happy, and the attacking trident is being a lot of joy to fans here and around the world. Not just for how they play, for how they connect on the pitch, but also for their relationship off the pitch, for how they work together, always happy.
From what you’re saying, you’re one of the ones that thinks that getting along well off the pitch improves things.
Yes! If you work in a good environment, favorable, when you’re all friends, when you’re a family like they are, because they’re very united and it’s difficult for this to end, it shows on the pitch. Barça is an example from a collective point of view, but also has individualities, people that can be important in certain moments.
Against Arsenal they proved this with that first goal.
Impressive. They only needed one play to solve the game and when they had the opportunity they took advantage of it.
The image you have behind you, the photo of the three together during a game, says a lot. The friendship is real.
(Laughs) If it was marketing I’d be making money off of this, but I don’t have a company to work with the three of them. Really, the happiness of the three of them makes us proud, especially as a father, knowing that Neymar came to a club like Barça and how he was received by its most important star and by the group… And then Suárez came in and he was received the same way.
Has Neymar become a man at Barcelona?
His dream was to play for Barça. He wouldn’t have gone to any other team in Europe without first coming to Barça. First because his idol, Messi, was here. Second because he wanted to play with this generation of footballers. And third because he enjoys how this team plays football. It’s very difficult to do what Barça does, it’s always football against strength, talent against determination. All the players in this squad are talented, the attackers are what people talk about, but you look behind them and there’s Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic, then Piqué and Mascherano a little further back… They’ve put together a squad of spectacular quality. They’re all talented. For us it’s a success to be here.
Will your son win a Ballon D’Or by Messi’s side? I say that because of the respect he has for him, always making clear that the Argentine is number one.
The respect is mutual, the one that Neymar has for Messi or Suárez, both of them also have for him. The world of football will say in what moment Neymar, Messi or Suárez will win the Ballons D’Or. He knows that his moment will come, now is not the time to look for it. He doesn’t need it. I’d rather he won the Champions League this season, because it’s his dream, than talk about the Ballon D’Or. It’s clear that individual trophies are important, but the collective ones are always the priority.
Dunga said that he will come to Barcelona to decide whether Neymar will play the Copa América or the Olympic Games this summer.
I found out about this from the press. Right now there’s nothing official. We don’t have a problem with that. When he comes he’ll talk to him about the future of the national team. But you have to have one thing clear: Neymar wants to play everything.
Yes, but there are a lot of games…
But players like him enjoy being on the pitch, regardless of whether they’re facing an inferior team or a national team. They love playing.
You’re Brazilian… 4 Champions League trophies or a World Cup for your son?
(Laughs) The Champions League is one of the most important tournaments in the world, we’ve been waiting for a trophy like this for years, but for us, as Brazilians, the World Cup is much more important, it’s a dream in Neymar’s career.
Will he stay at Barcelona for a lot of years?
We hope so. He has two more years of contract. For two years people can be calm.
But two years don’t make people calm. Will he renew?
We’ll start the talks soon.
So you haven’t started? There’s no pre-agreement?
No. We’ve spent so much time defending ourselves from the accusations we’ve faced that thinking about the renewal would have been precipitated. We’re calm with everything we’ve done at Barça and I think Barça is too. President Bartomeu can be certain that we’ll talk in May and draw out the ideal roadmap for Neymar and Barça to go on together. People should be calm, we’re receiving attacks from every side, we have to defend ourselves well, make everything clear so that we’re allowed to work and Neymar can be even happier, because we already are very happy here.
Was seeing him testify in front of the National Court the worst experience?
We didn’t have any accusation against us here. Not against Neymar, not against my firms. But this is the accusation of a company from Brazil that arrives here, in Madrid. At first it wasn’t accepted, but on the second try it was. We’re being investigated and I hope that this finishes soon, because the complaint isn’t true. Seeing such improper claims being accepted by judges unsettles me.
Has there been any political involvement in this case?
I don’t know. People don’t have a clear answer on this. We’re just expecting this to end. How can it be that a transfer sanctioned by FIFA, who accepted everything, has now turned into something illegal? If this is the case then FIFA is accused too. In Brazil DIS’s claim was dismissed, in Madrid it was accepted…
You didn’t do anything wrong in the transfer? Would you do everything the same again?
The transfer was totally legitimate.
What was the best day of these 1000 days at Barcelona?
The day of the Champions League final. It’s a nice story: the kid who always dreamed about this club, who loves this club, who dreamed about winning the Champions League with this team, was rewarded with a goal in the final. If some years ago we would have imagined a story like this we wouldn’t have written one so nice, so perfect. But it was true, it happened, it was one of the best moments in Neymar’s career… In these 1000 days the Champions League was the thing that will in our memories for a long time.
190 million from Manchester United. Is that the only offer you’ve received?
Barça received this offer and rejected it last summer. These proposals are returning now, Barça is prepared to reject them, avoid them again. But there aren’t just offers for Neymar, for Messi and Suárez too…
But Neymar is 24 years old. A club can plan to pay that much for him.
He’s very young, yes, he has that going for him, but he’s happy at Barça. People should be very calm.
Has Madrid asked about him?
We weren’t contacted. And I would say that the club wasn’t either. These are speculations, we’ve lived with them since Neymar was 16 years old. Now we’re more experienced. We have to wait for May or June to have time to talk to the club. Moreover, Barça has a financial problem right now and we have to understand the moment the club is going through.
Does Neymar provoke his opponent with his style?
The fans go to the stadium to see a spectacle, to see talent on display. Every players has his style, but those who enjoy football want to see players like Messi, Cristiano, Suárez, Iniesta, Busquets… they have to be protected, not threatened. We’ve lived this with Zidane, Maradona… Do we want to play football or American football? That is another type of spectacle, a different sport. These players are different and they are an inspiration to other players. It’s necessary to have players like Messi, Neymar or Cristiano act as an inspiration so that this sport can continue making the entire world love it…
How do you imagine that the next 1000 days will be?
My great challenge is to give my son peace so that he only has to think about enjoying football, so that he’s happy, as he is now very happy at Barça. This has always been my objective, from the first day, as a father and as a businessman. Giving him the best management, professionally and personally. He has a contract for two more years, we have to put out the fires, end these discussions about his transfer, make everything clear so that we can live in peace and keep working.
https://grup14.com/story/neymar-s-f...90m-from-manchester-united-and-turned-it-down
Yes, with everything that Neymar has won, everything he’s achieved is a dream come true for my son. He’s at the club where he wanted to be since he was a kid and it’s a positive experience. We’ve learned a lot of things in Barcelona, every day, like the fact that success comes after winning battles. We’ll never be able to live a calm life here, but we’re happy.
And when he came here people weren’t sure that two captains could coexist on the same ship. Now there are three.
People can say what they want, I’m not bothered. Football is like this. Maybe what is happening how hasn’t happened before in the history of football. But, luckily for Barça, these three captains are happy, and the attacking trident is being a lot of joy to fans here and around the world. Not just for how they play, for how they connect on the pitch, but also for their relationship off the pitch, for how they work together, always happy.
From what you’re saying, you’re one of the ones that thinks that getting along well off the pitch improves things.
Yes! If you work in a good environment, favorable, when you’re all friends, when you’re a family like they are, because they’re very united and it’s difficult for this to end, it shows on the pitch. Barça is an example from a collective point of view, but also has individualities, people that can be important in certain moments.
Against Arsenal they proved this with that first goal.
Impressive. They only needed one play to solve the game and when they had the opportunity they took advantage of it.
The image you have behind you, the photo of the three together during a game, says a lot. The friendship is real.
(Laughs) If it was marketing I’d be making money off of this, but I don’t have a company to work with the three of them. Really, the happiness of the three of them makes us proud, especially as a father, knowing that Neymar came to a club like Barça and how he was received by its most important star and by the group… And then Suárez came in and he was received the same way.
Has Neymar become a man at Barcelona?
His dream was to play for Barça. He wouldn’t have gone to any other team in Europe without first coming to Barça. First because his idol, Messi, was here. Second because he wanted to play with this generation of footballers. And third because he enjoys how this team plays football. It’s very difficult to do what Barça does, it’s always football against strength, talent against determination. All the players in this squad are talented, the attackers are what people talk about, but you look behind them and there’s Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic, then Piqué and Mascherano a little further back… They’ve put together a squad of spectacular quality. They’re all talented. For us it’s a success to be here.
Will your son win a Ballon D’Or by Messi’s side? I say that because of the respect he has for him, always making clear that the Argentine is number one.
The respect is mutual, the one that Neymar has for Messi or Suárez, both of them also have for him. The world of football will say in what moment Neymar, Messi or Suárez will win the Ballons D’Or. He knows that his moment will come, now is not the time to look for it. He doesn’t need it. I’d rather he won the Champions League this season, because it’s his dream, than talk about the Ballon D’Or. It’s clear that individual trophies are important, but the collective ones are always the priority.
Dunga said that he will come to Barcelona to decide whether Neymar will play the Copa América or the Olympic Games this summer.
I found out about this from the press. Right now there’s nothing official. We don’t have a problem with that. When he comes he’ll talk to him about the future of the national team. But you have to have one thing clear: Neymar wants to play everything.
Yes, but there are a lot of games…
But players like him enjoy being on the pitch, regardless of whether they’re facing an inferior team or a national team. They love playing.
You’re Brazilian… 4 Champions League trophies or a World Cup for your son?
(Laughs) The Champions League is one of the most important tournaments in the world, we’ve been waiting for a trophy like this for years, but for us, as Brazilians, the World Cup is much more important, it’s a dream in Neymar’s career.
Will he stay at Barcelona for a lot of years?
We hope so. He has two more years of contract. For two years people can be calm.
But two years don’t make people calm. Will he renew?
We’ll start the talks soon.
So you haven’t started? There’s no pre-agreement?
No. We’ve spent so much time defending ourselves from the accusations we’ve faced that thinking about the renewal would have been precipitated. We’re calm with everything we’ve done at Barça and I think Barça is too. President Bartomeu can be certain that we’ll talk in May and draw out the ideal roadmap for Neymar and Barça to go on together. People should be calm, we’re receiving attacks from every side, we have to defend ourselves well, make everything clear so that we’re allowed to work and Neymar can be even happier, because we already are very happy here.
Was seeing him testify in front of the National Court the worst experience?
We didn’t have any accusation against us here. Not against Neymar, not against my firms. But this is the accusation of a company from Brazil that arrives here, in Madrid. At first it wasn’t accepted, but on the second try it was. We’re being investigated and I hope that this finishes soon, because the complaint isn’t true. Seeing such improper claims being accepted by judges unsettles me.
Has there been any political involvement in this case?
I don’t know. People don’t have a clear answer on this. We’re just expecting this to end. How can it be that a transfer sanctioned by FIFA, who accepted everything, has now turned into something illegal? If this is the case then FIFA is accused too. In Brazil DIS’s claim was dismissed, in Madrid it was accepted…
You didn’t do anything wrong in the transfer? Would you do everything the same again?
The transfer was totally legitimate.
What was the best day of these 1000 days at Barcelona?
The day of the Champions League final. It’s a nice story: the kid who always dreamed about this club, who loves this club, who dreamed about winning the Champions League with this team, was rewarded with a goal in the final. If some years ago we would have imagined a story like this we wouldn’t have written one so nice, so perfect. But it was true, it happened, it was one of the best moments in Neymar’s career… In these 1000 days the Champions League was the thing that will in our memories for a long time.
190 million from Manchester United. Is that the only offer you’ve received?
Barça received this offer and rejected it last summer. These proposals are returning now, Barça is prepared to reject them, avoid them again. But there aren’t just offers for Neymar, for Messi and Suárez too…
But Neymar is 24 years old. A club can plan to pay that much for him.
He’s very young, yes, he has that going for him, but he’s happy at Barça. People should be very calm.
Has Madrid asked about him?
We weren’t contacted. And I would say that the club wasn’t either. These are speculations, we’ve lived with them since Neymar was 16 years old. Now we’re more experienced. We have to wait for May or June to have time to talk to the club. Moreover, Barça has a financial problem right now and we have to understand the moment the club is going through.
Does Neymar provoke his opponent with his style?
The fans go to the stadium to see a spectacle, to see talent on display. Every players has his style, but those who enjoy football want to see players like Messi, Cristiano, Suárez, Iniesta, Busquets… they have to be protected, not threatened. We’ve lived this with Zidane, Maradona… Do we want to play football or American football? That is another type of spectacle, a different sport. These players are different and they are an inspiration to other players. It’s necessary to have players like Messi, Neymar or Cristiano act as an inspiration so that this sport can continue making the entire world love it…
How do you imagine that the next 1000 days will be?
My great challenge is to give my son peace so that he only has to think about enjoying football, so that he’s happy, as he is now very happy at Barça. This has always been my objective, from the first day, as a father and as a businessman. Giving him the best management, professionally and personally. He has a contract for two more years, we have to put out the fires, end these discussions about his transfer, make everything clear so that we can live in peace and keep working.
https://grup14.com/story/neymar-s-f...90m-from-manchester-united-and-turned-it-down
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