The Barcelona president claims their bitter rivals were attempting to snap up the player even as he signed a contract with the Blaugrana, and ruled out a move for Iker Casillas

Barcelona club president Sandro Rosell has revealed that rivals Real Madrid tried to convince Neymar to move to Santiago Bernabeu this summer right until the eleventh hour.

The Brazilian forward sealed a €57 million switch to Camp Nou after making it clear he favoured a move to the Liga champions, but that did not prevent los Blancos from attempting to disrupt negotiations even when the contract was being signed, according to Rosell.

"When we reached an initial agreement with Neymar's father, the player had already passed a medical with Madrid, so we joked we would not bother with our own check-up," he told television station TV3.

"When we were signing the contract, Madrid were sending emails to Santos."

The Blaugrana president was also quashed the notion of their being any possibility of Real Madrid club captain Iker Casillas replacing the out-going Victor Valdes, despite the Spain No.1 having failed to regain his first-team place from Diego Lopez.

"Casillas will not sign because he is an icon of Real Madrid and I could not see him with the club badge on his chest, the same way I wouldn’t like to see Xavi in a Real jersey," said Rosell.

Finally, the 49-year-old revealed that tensions have dropped between La Liga's top two since Jose Mourinho's departure for Chelsea, but hinted he would miss the Portuguese's presence in Spain.

"Since then the tension has dropped, but his press conferences were entertaining," he added. "In the European Super Cup I was siding with Bayern Munich. Pep Guardiola is the best coach in history.

Estonian : Barcelona klubi president Sandro Rosell on selgunud, et konkurendid Real Madrid püüdnud veenda Neymar liikuda Santiago Bernabeu sel suvel õigus kuni üheteistkümnendal tunnil.

Brazilian edasi suletud € 57000000 lüliti Camp Nou pärast selgeks soodustas ta liikuda Liga sportlast, kuid see ei seganud los Blancos üritades takistada läbirääkimiste isegi kui leping on alla kirjutatud, vastavalt Rosell.

"Kui me jõudnud esialgse kokkuleppe Neymar isa mängija oli juba läbi meditsiiniline koos Madrid, nii et me joked me ei viitsinud oma check-up," ütles ta telekanalile TV3.

"Kui olime lepingu allkirjastamist, Madrid saatsid kirju Santos."

Blaugrana president oli ka tühistas mõiste oma oleks võimalust Real Madrid Club kapten Iker Casillas asendades lahkuv Victor Valdes, vaatamata Hispaania No.1 ta ei ole suutnud taastada oma esimese meeskonna koht, Diego Lopez.

"Casillas ei kirjuta, sest ta on ikoon Real Madrid ja ma ei näe teda klubi embleem rinnal, samamoodi ma ei tahaks näha, Xavi in Real Jersey," ütles Rosell.

Lõpuks 49-aastane näitas, et pinged on langenud vahel La Liga tipp kaks sest Jose Mourinho millest Chelsea, kuid vihjas, et ta laseks Portugali kohalolek Hispaania.

"Kuna siis pinge on langenud, kuid tema pressikonverentsi lõbus," lisas ta. "In Euroopa Super Cup Olin kallutanud Müncheni Bayern. Pep Guardiola on parim treener ajaloos.