During the summer when Neymar became one of the most expensive footballers in the world, his career could have taken a completely different path if Moscow's "Lokomotiv" had taken the opportunity to buy him in 2008.
After seeing the young Brazilian wearing "Santos" jerseys in a youth tournament, representatives of the Russian club considered submitting a €10 million offer, but ultimately decided against it.
Now, they regret that decision, because later on, selling the sniper could have earned them a ton of money.
"We were considering whether it was worth buying Neymar," former "Lokomotiv" president Nikolai Naumov told "Sport-Express."
"We wanted to buy him. Our scouts were observing the Brazilian."
"There were big doubts. First, he was too young. Second, it was unclear how he would adapt in Russia. So, we decided not to buy him."
"It would likely have cost around €10 million. You understand, paying so much for a young player from another continent... you have to be cautious with such things."
"Yes, in the end we lost out, but I didn't notice that Neymar played better than others. Alan Gatagov looked just as good."
Neymar made his debut in the main "Santos" team already in March 2009.
