Roberto Carlos has backtracked on the comments he made last week about Real Madrid potentially signing Neymar. The Brazilian clarified his sensational claim, saying that he was only joking about his capacity to entice the Ballon d’Or nominee from Barcelona to the Santiago Bernabeu.
In an interview with Spanish television network Intereconomia, Carlos revealed his true intentions about his comments last week, saying “I only said what I said as a joke and someone took it seriously. But [it is accurate] Madrid always signs the best players in the world.”
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Carlos’ backtracking on his comments came as a surprise since, just last week he had sensationally claimed that he could persuade Neymar to join Madrid in an interview with Punto Pelota, saying “I can bring Neymar to Real Madrid. He is still very young and I am sure next year he will finish even higher in the Ballon d'Or.”
Neymar previously came close to joining Real Madrid, as was revealed in his book : ‘Neymar: My Story – Conversations With My Father’. The Brazilian was a trialist for Real Madrid at age 14 and was offered a contract, but homesickness meant the player’s performances for the academy side took a nosedive, which meant he rejected the move and returned to his native Brazil and play for Santos, eventually joining Real Madrid’s arch rivals, Barcelona.
Carlos is augmenting his coaching credentials at Madrid
Roberto Carlos is currently observing Zinedine Zidane’s training sessions with Real Madrid, hoping that he can augment his coaching knowledge by observing Los Blancos training in close proximity.
Carlos, who spent a trophy laden 11-year spell at Real Madrid, making over 500 appearances for the first team, recently concluded his assignment in charge of the Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League, where he led the franchise to the semifinals.
The legendary Brazilian left-back, who was also rumoured to be interested in a coaching role, played down rumours of a return to Madrid in a coaching capacity, saying “I’m happy that Madrid may be interested in giving me a job, but I am only here to watch the squad training and to learn.”
“I am about to start my top level coaching studies. I’ve already spent five years coaching in Turkey, Russia and India. But I’ve got a lot to learn and I need to take things one step at a time.”
