“I was in my boxers!”: Neymar recalls nearly joining Bayern Munich

The Brazilian star recently returned to former club Santos, the team that he left for Barcelona in 2013.

After 12 years away Neymar has made a glorious return to his boyhood club, Santos.

The Brazilian star left for Barcelona in 2013 and went on to become one of the world’s best players. But in a recent interview, Neymar revealed that he nearly ended up at Bayern Munich, playing under Pep Guardiola.

Speaking recently, Neymar said that he was approached by Guardiola while he was playing in Brazil and was hit with a proposal. Guardiola, who had recently left Barcelona, wanted Neymar to join him at his next club, but Neymar was less-than-prepared for the offer.

Neymar explained: “I almost went to Bayern… because of Pep Guardiola. After I won the Puskás Award, my dad kept calling me at 2am. I answered, he told me to open the door... I was in boxers. It was my dad, Pep Guardiola and the translator!"

Neymar continued: “Pep told me, ‘I want to sign you and bring you with me, to whatever club I go to. I will make you the best player in the world'. He shows me a paper, opens his laptop, tells me where I’d play… Pep also said, ‘If you don’t score 60 goals in a season, I’ll change my name.’"

At the time Neymar was one of the most coveted players in world soccer and was tipped to be the heir to both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, a Ballon d’Or winner in-waiting. Neymar even said that his dream was to play “for a big club like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea” after leaving Santos.

However Guardiola, at that point, was without a club after taking some time out after leaving Barcelona. Guardiola was the hottest managerial property in the world and he hadn’t publicly revealed his next move, but he did let slip to Neymar that he was heading to Bayern Munich.

“I was saying… Okay, but what team? Pep said, ‘I can’t tell you yet because it’s not out yet. I convinced him and he said, ‘I’m signing with Bayern. I know it was a cold city but I will take care of you.’"

In May 2013 Santos announced that they had received two concrete offers for their star player and Neymar quickly announced that he intended to sign for Barcelona. He joined on a deal thought to be worth around €88 million and won a historic treble in 2014/15, forming an iconic front three alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

He will have few regrets about his decision to move to Barcelona, instead of Bayern Munich. But now, more than a decade on, the thought of Neymar joining Pep Guardiola’s Bayern offers a fascinating insight to a real-life sliding doors moment.