Zidane Dismisses Proposed Neymar Switch to Bernabeu

Neymar has been recently circulating in the media as the next Real Madrid galactico, despite having made a world-record transfer to PSG from Barcelona just last summer. The Parisien side have paid an astonishing €222m to acquire the Brazilian’s services, but Bernabeu has emerged as the potential next destination for the 25-year-old – a move the Real Madrid boss has poured cold water on.

Bernabeu’s status quo would become unsettled

Zinedine Zidane doesn’t want to hurt the established trio in Real Madrid’s attack (BBC – Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo) by bringing in Neymar to the lineup, according to the Mirror and other online sportsbook news.

If reports are anything to go by, the Frenchman believes it could potentially unsettle the star players, most notably Ronaldo who still viewed as the main attacking threat of the club, despite suffering a drop in his normally high numbers in front of goal. Should the Brazilian join the Portuguese in the lineup, it would definitely cause a clash of egos, as we know both men always want the take the ball, whether it’s a penalty or a free-kick.

Merely a few months ago, Neymar and his Uruguayan teammate Cavani were involved in a heated struggle for the ball when PSG were awarded a penalty, which the latter ended up taking. This reportedly caused a stir within the dressing room and rumours immediately emerged that Neymar wanted the club’s hierarchy to sell the Uruguayan – we’re yet to see if this holds any truth in the upcoming two transfer windows.

Real Madrid could use the goal-scoring skills of the Brazilian nowadays

After having played 15 rounds in La Liga, Real Madrid are in 4th position on the table with only 31 points, having won only 9 games until this point with the rest of the encounters ending in 4 draws and 2 losses. Granted, they’ve played one less game than their opponents in the league, however their arch rivals Barcelona find themselves leading in first place with a whopping 42 points, having been undefeated so far with 13 wins and only 3 draws. This will undoubtedly put pressure on Zidane’s men as they gear up to host the Catalans in El Clasico this weekend.

Ronaldo’s threat in the box is still significant, having bagged 16 goals in 21 games so far this campaign. But to be honest, it’s nowhere near his previous records by this time of the year, where he would have normally scored at least 10 more goals than he currently has to his name. In La Liga, the Portuguese star has found the back of the net merely 4 times in 11 games, which fares poorly in comparison to Neymar who has bagged 11 goals in 13 Ligue 1 matches so far, and 17 across all competitions.

So although Zidane has dismissed signing Neymar (for now at least), it really wouldn’t hurt having his talents around. But realistically speaking, we do agree that Ronaldo – Real Madrid’s all-time goalscorer – would have to leave the Bernabeu in order to facilitate the move for the Brazilian. (Bet on sports in France and Spain this weekend to make a killing!)

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