Neymar Was ‘One Step’ from Real Madrid – Ex-Agent Ribeiro Claims

Wagner Ribeiro has seen enough of football’s underbelly to know how close deals come to collapsing. Or, in Neymar’s case, how close they come to changing history.

The former agent of the Brazilian star has lifted the lid on the transfer saga that defined Neymar’s early career, insisting the forward was “one step” away from joining Real Madrid in 2013 – and that a move to the Bernabeu would have delivered him a Ballon d’Or.

Madrid in pole position

Neymar’s switch from Santos to Barcelona in 2013 shook the market. It was one of those transfers that seemed preordained: the brightest Brazilian talent of his generation, walking into a dressing room with Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and, later, Luis Suarez.

According to Ribeiro, it was nothing of the sort.

In a detailed interview with “GE Globo”, the agent described a long, drawn-out tug of war between Spain’s two superclubs, a contest that began years before Neymar ever boarded a flight to Europe. Real Madrid and Barcelona both courted him while he was still at Santos, sending delegations, drafting proposals, flying in and out of Brazil to win over the player and his camp.

Ribeiro says Madrid had it all but done.

“Everything was agreed with Florentino,” he recalled, referring to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. Club lawyers were already in São Paulo. The salary, the project, the structure – all in place.

One obstacle remained: Santos’ final approval.

“All we were missing was one condition: that Santos give its approval,” Ribeiro explained. From his perspective, Madrid were in a position of “absolute advantage” in the race. The move, in his mind, was ready to be signed off.

The agent’s choice vs the player’s call

Ribeiro does not hide where his own loyalties lay. He wanted the Bernabeu.

“I wanted him to go to Real Madrid, of course I wanted that. Because of everything,” he admitted. The prestige, the exposure, the club’s record in turning stars into Ballon d’Or winners – for an agent, the logic was obvious.

But Neymar, he stressed, always had the final word.

“It is not the agent who decides, it is the player.” In the end, the player chose Barcelona, and with that decision, the trajectory of his career – and perhaps the modern history of both Spanish giants – shifted.

An intruder at the celebration

Ribeiro still travelled with Neymar to Barcelona for the unveiling. He was on the same plane, headed to the Camp Nou for one of the most high-profile presentations of the decade.

Yet he did not feel part of it.

“When I travelled on the same plane with Neymar to Barcelona, to attend his unveiling ceremony, they sat me down as if I were an intruder,” he said. While the club celebrated the arrival of their new star, the man who had tried to steer him to Madrid watched from the fringes.

“I did not take part in the celebration, but stayed in one of the corners.”

The image is stark: Neymar on the pitch, juggling a ball in front of thousands, and his former agent tucked away, knowing how close the player had come to walking out in white instead of blaugrana.

No regrets over Barcelona

For all his Madrid leanings, Ribeiro does not question the sporting value of Neymar’s decision.

“He played a lot alongside Suarez, Messi, Xavi and Iniesta... There were only the great stars there. And he won everything. And there is no regret.”

Neymar formed part of one of the most devastating attacking trios in modern football with Messi and Suarez, lifting the Champions League, La Liga and a host of domestic trophies. The Barcelona chapter delivered titles, iconic nights and a central role in one of the era’s defining teams.

Yet Ribeiro keeps returning to the same belief: that the individual recognition Neymar craved most would have been more attainable in Madrid.

“If Neymar had played at Real Madrid, he would have won the Ballon d’Or. I have no doubt,” he said, underlining a conviction that has clearly hardened over time.

From Barcelona to Paris: the Ibiza summit

Ribeiro’s involvement in Neymar’s story did not end with the move to Spain. Years later, he found himself in a very different setting: Ibiza, sitting down with Neymar, his father and Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to discuss a fresh chapter.

This time the axis ran from Barcelona to Paris, and the numbers were enormous.

“Nasser was offering him 25 million euros and we asked for 40,” Ribeiro revealed. The negotiation quickly turned tactical. When Neymar’s father allowed it to be leaked that PSG were ready to pay 25 million in Paris, Barcelona reacted.

The Catalan club improved their offer and pushed Neymar’s salary to 26 million. It bought them time, but only for a season.

One year later, PSG triggered the €222 million release clause in one of the most seismic transfers the game has ever seen. Neymar got his 40 million. Barcelona lost their star. PSG gained the face of their project.

Money, Ribeiro insists, was not the only driver.

“Neymar wanted to change the atmosphere and he had a promise that Paris Saint-Germain would build a great team.” A new league, a new dressing room, the chance to step out from under Messi’s shadow – all of it weighed into the decision.

The Ballon d’Or that never came

Ribeiro circles back to the same point, the same hypothetical that still gnaws at him: Real Madrid and the Ballon d’Or.

From his vantage point, the pattern is clear. The Bernabeu has long been a launchpad for the game’s biggest individual prize. For an agent who once had Madrid’s lawyers waiting in São Paulo, the thought of what might have been is hard to shake.

“If Neymar had played at Real Madrid, he would have won the Ballon d’Or. I have no doubt,” he repeated.

The trophies with Barcelona, the world-record move to PSG, the packed stadiums and the global fame are all facts. So is the absence of that golden ball.

The question that lingers is the one Ribeiro cannot stop asking: in a white shirt, with a Madrid crest on his chest, would Neymar’s story read differently today?