NEYMAR was Paris Saint-Germain’s secret weapon in their signing of Sergio Ramos.
The Spaniard revealed that the any doubts he had about a move to France were put to bed by the Brazilian.
Ramos, 34, was monitored by Premier League heavyweights Manchester United, Man City and Chelsea after he left Real Madrid on a free transfer last month.
The veteran was reportedly open to a move to England and United were among the favourites to sign him.
But that was before PSG’s hierarchy, including sporting director Leonardo Araújo, president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Neymar came along and worked their magic on Ramos.
In an interview with L’Equipe, and reported by AS, Ramos explained: “Neymar convinced me before signing for PSG.
“Before signing for a new club, it is always helpful to talk with several players, or with Leonardo or Al Khelaïfi.
“They all convinced me in their own way.”
It’s a far cry from when the pair used to slug it out against each other in the LaLiga’s fiercest rivalry between Real and Neymar’s old club Barcelona.
Ramos was one of the main figures in the feud that saw things get so brutal that even Lionel Messi was left bleeding when the teams met in 2019.
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The centre-back was the culprit, and even though he said it was an accident his long-time rival and Messi’s team-mate Gerard Pique thought otherwise.
Ramos’ arch-nemesis Pique was adamant that the violent act was intentional and labelled it as aggression.
He said: “Leo had blood in his mouth. It was an aggression.”
The pair were at logger-heads once again last year when Pique called Madrid’s first-half performance against them the worst he’s ever seen, despite them beating Barca 2-0.
But Ramos was having none of and hit back saying: “I sign up to win all Clasicos by making a first half as bad as he says.”
Amazingly none of the drama between the teams had an effect on Ramos’ relationship with Neymar and the pair are on great terms.
The ex-Sevilla ace revealed that he and the 29-year-old have maintained a great friendship over the last several years.
He added: “We have been talking to Neymar for six or seven years.
“Despite the fact that he played for Barça and I played for Madrid, we have always had an extraordinary friendship.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
