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The story and choice of the young Brazilian talent Neymar, which has been going on for more than a year, about the 21-year-old striker's desire to play in Europe, has finally come to an end. The official website of "Barcelona" confirmed on Sunday night, Lithuanian time, that the star of the "Santos" club will wear the "Blaugrana" jersey from the next season.
Barcelona will pay about 28 million euros to the "Santos" team for Neymar and will commit to play two friendly matches with the Brazilian team. The striker will earn about 7 million euros per year in the Catalan capital's team. Unofficially, it is reported that as an addition to the deal, Barcelona acquired the priority right to buy three players from the "Santos" youth academy in the future.
The 21-year-old footballer has been considered the most promising player on the planet for more than a year. The striker, as is typical for Brazilians, is characterized by impressive ball control technique, high speed, and the ability to score goals.
Neymar can play both as a striker and on the edges of the field, and he is equally capable of shooting with both feet.
Neymar made his debut in the Brazilian national team back in 2009 at the age of just 18 and has already scored 20 goals in 32 matches. At "Santos" club since 2009, the striker played in 224 matches and scored 136 goals.
“My family and friends already knew that I would sign the contract with the Barcelona team on Monday. I want to thank all the "Santos" fans, the past nine years here have been fantastic for me. Trophies, goals, breakthroughs, moments of triumph, and songs created by the fans will always remain in my heart,” Neymar said when bidding farewell to the "Santos" fans.
The striker has long been linked with various European clubs, and according to the media, "Barcelona" and Madrid's "Real" fought the most fiercely for the Brazilian's signature. However, the clubs of the old continent were scared off by the "Santos" club, demanding gigantic transfer fees - at one point rumors reached an absurd amount of 100 million euros.
In addition, Neymar's indecision about where he wanted to play - "Real" or "Barcelona", in Spain or England and so on - was supposed to deter more than one team.
Nevertheless, Neymar's contract with the "Santos" club would have expired after the next year's World Cup, and Neymar did not intend to extend it. The Brazilian team had no choice but to sell their star, as next year he could have left the club for free.
Neymar is the first signing of the "Barcelona" club this pre-season, and the signatures on the five-year contract will be put on Monday.
