EXCLUSIVE: Manchester City strike first in bid to sign Brazilian hot property Neymar
By CHARLES SALE
Manchester City, the club with the biggest spending power in the Barclays Premier League, have made the first move in the race to sign Brazilian star Neymar.
City’s top two executives Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain are said to have held initial talks with Neymar’s family and his representatives in a box at Wembley on the night of England’s friendly against Brazil on February 6.
Chief executive Soriano and director of football Begiristain were guests of the FA in the VIP Wembley suite for the 150th anniversary match.
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Interest: Manchester City have made the first move to sign Brazilian star Neymar
But the pair went to the trouble of visiting the IMG hospitality box - located on the other side of the stadium - in order to make contact with the Neymar camp and were spotted during their half-circuit of the corporate areas.
Sports management giants IMG are understood to have been entertaining Neymar’s father Neymar da Silva and the £55m-rated player’s marketing team from IMX Talent. The company is a joint venture with IMG to exploit sports business opportunities in Brazil.
They took control of Neymar’s off-field image rights and career guidance last July. He is under contract at Brazilian side Santos until the 2014 World Cup which takes place in Brazil.
Move: City executives Ferran Soriano (left) and Txiki Begiristain (right) are said to have held talks with Neymar's family and representatives in an executive box at Wembley during England's friendly against Brazil
The 21-year-old striker is expected to make his inevitable big-money move to Europe that summer, after a tournament which could dramatically increase his value.
There was much hype surrounding Neymar’s appearance in this country earlier this month, but despite playing 90 minutes at Wembley the youngster failed to impress as England deservedly won the friendly 2-1.
That has not deterred top clubs like Barcelona from wanting to sign him and the Spanish giants are seen as one of the favourites for his signature.
Big-money deal: Neymar is under contract at Santos until 2014 and is expected to move to Europe that summer
But Abu Dhabi-owned City can afford to offer Neymar a similar package or better and have put down the first marker.
It also might be relevant that Spanish compatriots Soriano and Begiristain used to work together at Barcelona - reported to be the preferred choice of Neymar senior for his son - and could persuade the family to make the move to Manchester instead.
On Monday night, City were not prepared to comment.
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