City lose to Real in Neymar quest
Posted Friday, November 04, 2011 by ESPN
Manchester City are set to be disappointed in their bid to sign Neymar from Santos, with Real Madrid close to a deal.
According to reports in the Daily Mail, the La Liga giants are close to sealing a £ 48 million transfer for the Brazilian in January, despite the best efforts of City manager Roberto Mancini, who urged his club to do everything possible to lure the 19-year-old star to the Etihad Stadium.
The Premier League big-spenders have even gone to the extent of sending coach Attilio Lombardo to South American to scout the player, and reported that Neymar could be the Citizen's version of Wayne Rooney, who joined up from Everton as a promising youngster and led the Red Devils to several titles and silverware.
But it won't just be the Citizens set to be disappointed, with rivals Chelsea also rueing their own failure, as the Brazilian snubbed a move to Stamford Bridge last summer.
Reports in Spain indicate that Neymar would prefer to move to the Bernabeu instead of England, and will sign on a huge deal that will make him the third highest paid star at Real Madrid, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka in the money-stakes.
Real will look to pay Santos £20 million in an initial down-payment before 2011 ends, with the remainder of the fee to be paid in installments.
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