Santos chief reveals stance on Neymar transfer amid Barcelona & Bayern Munich links
- Neymar has a contract at Santos until June
- Barcelona and Bayern Munich have been linked with a move for the 33-year-old
- Santos' president described Neymar as "happy", "joyful" and "committed"
Santos president Marcelo Teixeira has described Neymar as "happy", "joyful" and - repeatedly - "committed" to his Brazilian boyhood club despite growing speculation about a transfer to Europe.
Neymar returned to Vila Belmiro during the winter window after a desperately underwhelming spell at Al Hilal, penning a short-term deal until 30 June. A serious ACL injury derailed the 33-year-old's 18-month stint in Saudi Arabia but his fast start to life back in Brazil has prompted admiring glances from across the continent.
Barcelona have been heavily linked with their former winger while Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich also emerged as surprise suitors. However, Santos are desperately keen on extending Neymar's existing contract.
"The hardest part is already over, which was having him here," Texeira told MARCA this week. "We'll see the club's technical response and results. We're working on sponsorships... he's already shown that he's not worried about the financial aspect.
"The entire technical committee accompanied him to his matches; everyone supports Santos, the entire country. And that will influence the possibility of him staying here in the near future. The national team has called him back."
Teixeira twice reiterated that Neymar is "committed to the project" at Santos and hailed the prolific playmaker as "happy, he's joyful, focused on being an important factor at Santos".
Financial motivation does not appear to be the defining factor for Neymar - who has commanded eye-watering wages from the world's richest teams across the last decade. Teixeira confirmed that Santos could not match any of the economic offers Neymar received from clubs outside Brazil, describing the player's decision as "a matter of feeling".
In terms of emotional pull, there is the obvious attraction of Barcelona. Teixeira insisted that Santos still have a "very healthy relationship" with the La Liga leaders despite the legal complications which arose from Neymar's move to Catalonia in 2013. Barcelona have supposedly challenged Brazil's all-time leading scorer to rack up 15 goals across the remainder of the campaign before opening discussions. Neymar has already found the net three times.
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