Bayern Munich president reveals Guardiola wanted Neymar

The president of Bayern Munich, Uli Hoeness, has revealed that incoming boss Pep Guardiola, asked the German club to sign Neymar from Santos, before they eventually landed Mario Gotze from Borussia Dortmund.

The Spanish boss was keen to add the 21-year-old Brazilian forward, who will now join his former team, Barcelona, after the Catalans agreed a €28 million move. Bayern then quickly moved to activate Gotze’s €37 million release clause.

“Guardiola had certain ideas to bring in a young Brazilian player [Neymar],” Hoeness said while speaking at an IDG Communications Media AG gathering.

“But we have had a number of bad experiences with young Brazilians in the past. If you consider signing someone who costs €20-30 million or even more, it is a difficult decision. We all know what happened with Breno…

“So we started looking for a similar player and eventually signed Mario Gotze.”

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