Barca ask Santos to look after Neymar

Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro says his Barcelona counterpart Sandro Rosell asked the club to take care of Neymar until Barca can sign him.

The 19-year-old Brazilian striker inked a new deal with Santos this week and in doing so pledged his allegiance to the club until at least 2014.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have both been chasing the young star, and it seems the Spanish and European champions have been keen to remind Santos of their interest in the player.

“I have a very good relationship with both Spanish clubs. I asked Rosell to respect our decision on Neymar, and he asked me to take care of the player until 2014,” Ribeiro told Cadena Cope.

“With (Real president) Florentino Perez I proposed a friendly match for our centenary and he accepted.”

Ribeiro is not surprised at the continued interested from the Spanish clubs in Neymar and said he would be in the same position if the roles were reversed.

“If I was the president of Real Madrid or Barcelona then I too would be doing everything to sign Neymar,” he said.

Neymar has scored 12 goals in 19 games for Santos in the Brazilian Serie A this season.