Football's Secret Trade

Chapter 11The Pharmacist's Medicine

According to his inner circle, there was only one team Neymar had his heart set on playing for: Barcelona. Coached by Pep Guardiola and led on the field by Lionel Messi, the Catalan club had beaten Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley Stadium in May 2011 taking its third Champions League title in five years, cementing a period of dominance not seen for years. Alex Ferguson, the losing side's manager, said it was the best team he had faced in his 40-year career. Of Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández, the axis of the team in midfield, Ferguson said they passed the ball so fast and accurately it made your head spin. After his team had lost 4-1 at Barcelona the previous season, Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger said Messi's magnetic control of the ball was as though he was a player in a PlayStation video game. As the plaudits lined up, Neymar was sure he wanted to be part of this football dynasty.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, who had worked in Brazil as a Nike marketing executive, asked Brazilian André Cury to lead negotiations with Neymar and his father. The pitch was a simple one: “Do you want to play for the best team in the world?” Real Madrid had delivered messages to Neymar from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, but the introverted Lionel Messi never dropped a line or sent a message encouraging the teenager to join him. Perhaps it wasn't necessary. Neymar was only 19 and had only recently moved out of the one-bedroom family home when he secretly ...