Barcelona: Dani Alves urges Neymar to sign contract extension

Barcelona full-back Dani Alves has urged Neymar to extend his contract with the club amid reported interest from Real Madrid and Manchester United. Neymar, 23, has scored 75 goals in 120 appearances for Barcelona since joining from Santos in 2013 and has been one of the Catalan giants' key players this season.

The Brazil captain has a contract with Barcelona until 2018 and is currently holding talks with the Nou Camp hierarchy towards extending his stay in Catalonia. "No one is able to do the things he can. When he was thinking about going to play somewhere else, I told him to look back in time at the other Brazilians who have played here, whether they'd been successful here or not, and how they had subsequently got on at other clubs," Alves was quoted as saying by Marca.

"[Barcelona] must give him a new deal, they'd be mad not to. Neymar will be the one to succeed [Lionel] Messi."

Manchester United bid

Neymar's future came under the spotlight after his father, Neymar Sr, said in November that tax problems could see the forward leave Spain. Spanish media reports claimed Real Madrid were drawing plans to prise the Brazil captain away from the Nou Camp, tempting him with a more lucrative contract than the one Barca are prepared to offer.

Manchester United also declared an interest in signing Neymar last summer, with the player confirming that he had held talks with the Premier League side. Neymar Sr claimed United were prepared to pay £145m ($210m) last summer to bring his son to Old Trafford but that the 23-year-old rejected the move as he was happy at Barcelona.

"Manchester United is the side that offered €190m for Neymar," he was reported as saying by the Daily Mail. "He has still two years left on his contract but you can all be calm as my son is so happy here."

Neymar has scored 16 goals in 18 league appearances for Barca this season.