Neymar: I would love to play for Guardiola

Barcelona star Neymar says he would love to play under Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola in the future.

Guardiola enjoyed a hugely successful spell in charge of Barca between 2008 and 2012, while the Brazil forward, 23, did not arrive at Camp Nou until 2013.

Neymar is unsure what the future holds for his playing career, but he would like to make a return and play in Brazil again, as well as experiencing the game in the United States.

And when asked if there was one coach he would particularly like to play with, outgoing Bayern boss Guardiola got the vote of Neymar, who is in contract talks with Barca to extend a deal that expires in June 2018.

He told Red Bull: “Yes, there is one [coach]: Guardiola is a guy who I really admire and who I would love to work with.

“It is tough to say if I want to play in other countries. Nobody knows tomorrow, but I am very happy where I am right now at Barcelona. 

“I have the will to go back to Brazil some day and I also would like to play in USA – those two countries are two where I want to play later on in my career.

“[USA] is a place where the game is growing and attracting the interest of lots of players, who are becoming more and more popular there.

“So this makes me curious, it makes me interested to see it closely.”

Neymar has already scored 21 goals in all competitions this season and recently finished third behind team-mate Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2015 Ballon d’Or.