Neymar 'snubbed PSG and Manchester United money' to stay at Barcelona

Barcelona star Neymar turned down lucrative moves to Paris Saint Germain and Manchester United before signing a new deal at the Nou Camp, Wagner Ribeiro has confirmed. The prestigious Brazilian agent claimed that the 24-year-old star was close to joining the Ligue 1 side after being tempted with a €40m-a-year offer (£33.9m, $45.1m).

Ribeiro was one of the agents behind Neymar's move to Barcelona from Santos in 2013 and is still one of the player's advisors. Earlier in June the agent warned the Catalan club that there were three clubs ready to pay the player's €190m release clause to sign him.

Neymar was then involved in a tug-of-war negotiation with the Spanish giants to sign a new deal following another impressive 2015-2016 campaign with the Catalans, where he helped his side win the Copa del Rey and La Liga titles while scoring 31 goals and providing 27 assists in 49 games.

Mundo Deportivo later reported PSG, Manchester United and Real Madrid were the three clubs in question, with the Ligue 1 billionaires offering Neymar a €30m-a-year (after tax) contract, double Barcelona's proposal.

However, on 1 July Neymar put an end to the speculation after committing his long-term future to the Catalans by signing a new five-year deal.

Yet, Ribeiro has now confirmed that those reports were true as PSG and Manchester United tried to lure him away from the Nou Camp with much more lucrative proposals.

"He was close to joining PSG," Ribeiro told ESPN Brazil. "He would have earned €40m a year net. "Neymar was also close to a spell at Manchester United, but he extended his contract to earn less at Barcelona because he wanted to stay at Barcelona."