Russian Premier League side turned down €10m Neymar move

Oli Fisher

Lokomotiv Moscow rejected a cut-price move for Neymar a few years back, the club’s former president has revealed.

The Brazilian star stole the headlines last summer when he made a shock €222million move to Paris Saint-Germain, but his career could have been completely different.

Lokomotiv scouted Neymar when he was at Santos during the Mediterranean Cup youth tournament in 2008, and considered a €10m move for the teenager.

However, former Lokomotiv president Nikolai Naumov has revealed that they decided against the move.

“We thought about whether or not it was worth buying Neymar,” Naumov told Sport-Express .

“We wanted to buy him. Our scouts watched the Brazilian.

“There were quite big doubts. First, he was too young. Second, it was unclear how he’d adapt to Russia… so we decided against getting him.

“It would have been around €10m, probably. You understand, paying so much for a youngster from another continent…you have to be careful with this sort of thing.

“Yes, we did lose in the final, but I didn’t notice that Neymar played any better than the others. Alan Gatagov looked just as good.”

 

More from Planet Sport: Bigger isn’t better in rugby, says Johnny Nic. (Planet Rugby)

Planet Sport quiz: Test your knowledge on Rafa Nadal’s career. (Tennis365)