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Manchester City, the club with the
biggest spending power in the Barclays Premier League, have made the
first move in the race to sign Brazil star Neymar.
City’s top two executives Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain are said to have held initial talks with Neymar’s family and his representatives in a box at Wembley on the night of England’s friendly against Brazil on February 6.
Chief executive Soriano and director of football Begiristain were guests of the FA in the VIP Wembley suite for the 150th anniversary match.
But the pair went to the trouble of
visiting the IMG hospitality box - located on the other side of the
stadium - in order to make contact with the Neymar camp and were spotted
during their half-circuit of the corporate areas.
Sports management giants IMG are understood to have been entertaining Neymar’s father Neymar da Silva and the £55m-rated player’s marketing team from IMX Talent. The company is a joint venture with IMG to exploit sports business opportunities in Brazil.
They took control of Neymar’s off-field image rights and career guidance last July. He is under contract at Brazilian side Santos until the 2014 World Cup which takes place in Brazil.
The 21-year-old striker is
expected to make his inevitable big-money move to Europe that summer,
after a tournament which could dramatically increase his value.
There was much hype surrounding Neymar’s appearance in this country earlier this month but despite playing 90 minutes at Wembley the youngster failed to impress as England deservedly won the friendly 2-1.
That has not deterred top clubs like Barcelona from wanting to sign him and the Spanish giants are seen as one of the favourites for his signature.
But Abu Dhabi-owned City can afford to offer Neymar a similar package or better and have put down the first marker.
It also might be relevant that Spanish compatriots Soriano and Begiristain used to work together at Barcelona - reported to be the preferred choice of Neymar senior for his son - and could persuade the family to make the move to Manchester instead.
On Monday night, City were not prepared to comment.
City’s top two executives Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain are said to have held initial talks with Neymar’s family and his representatives in a box at Wembley on the night of England’s friendly against Brazil on February 6.
Chief executive Soriano and director of football Begiristain were guests of the FA in the VIP Wembley suite for the 150th anniversary match.
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In the spotlight: Neymar is one of the hottest property in world football
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| Interest: Manchester City have made the first move to sign Brazilian star Neymar |
Sports management giants IMG are understood to have been entertaining Neymar’s father Neymar da Silva and the £55m-rated player’s marketing team from IMX Talent. The company is a joint venture with IMG to exploit sports business opportunities in Brazil.
They took control of Neymar’s off-field image rights and career guidance last July. He is under contract at Brazilian side Santos until the 2014 World Cup which takes place in Brazil.
Move: City executives Ferran Soriano (left) and Txiki Begiristain (right) are said to have held talks with Neymar's
family and representatives in an executive box at Wembley during
England's friendly against Brazil
There was much hype surrounding Neymar’s appearance in this country earlier this month but despite playing 90 minutes at Wembley the youngster failed to impress as England deservedly won the friendly 2-1.
That has not deterred top clubs like Barcelona from wanting to sign him and the Spanish giants are seen as one of the favourites for his signature.
 |
| Big-money deal: Neymar is under contract at Santos until 2014 and is expected to move to Europe that summer |
It also might be relevant that Spanish compatriots Soriano and Begiristain used to work together at Barcelona - reported to be the preferred choice of Neymar senior for his son - and could persuade the family to make the move to Manchester instead.
On Monday night, City were not prepared to comment.
