Real Madrid might have offered Santos more money and Neymar a higher salary.
But that 40m his father got.
Did RM offer that?
Not just the straight 40 million euros. That alone was probably not the problem. Also, and especially, all the shady deals with his father that according to the board weren't part of the deal and were not included in Neymar's contract, but were made ad hoc, precisely with his father, while we were signing his son. What a coincidence! Those were obvious payments in disguise for signing him, like the 2 million he gets every year as talent scout (that could explain why we're signing Brazilian players every year, more money to him via commission?) or another 4 million for Neymar & Neymar to promote the player's image rights. And of course, all the money we saved from taxes (ahem...) for doing things this way.