Image Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Neymar reveals how Pep Guardiola almost lured him to Bayern Munich

Neymar recalls when Pep Guardiola came to his doorstep at late night to convince him to go to Bayern Munich.

Image Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr. recently recalled the time he came extremely close to joining Bayern Munich, owed to an intense personal pitch from Pep Guardiola. In an interview with the Brazilian podcast Podpah, Neymar reminisced when Guardiola came to him at the late hours of the night.

The boss came to convince Neymar to move to Germany instead of Barcelona. He recalled, “I almost went to Bayern… because of Pep Guardiola. After winning the Puskás Award, my dad called me at 2 AM and told me to open the door… I was in my boxers.”

He added, “It was my father, Pep Guardiola, and a translator! Pep said: ‘I want to sign you and take you with me, no matter which club I go to. I will make you the best player in the world.'”

🚨🇩🇪 Neymar: “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!”.

“Pep told me: I want to sign you and… pic.twitter.com/TMZQbG5CLN
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 28, 2025

Back then in 2013, Guardiola took charge of Bayern Munich and Neymar was still playing at Santos FC in Brazil. Guardiola had identified Neymar as one of his primary transfer targets. To convince Neymar, he came prepared with a detailed plan of how the Brazilian would fit into his system.

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Neymar recalled, “He [Guardiola] showed me a document, opened his laptop, and explained where I would play. He also told me, ‘If you don’t score 60 goals in a season, I’ll change my name.’”

Choosing Barcelona Over Bayern

Despite such a tempting offer to learn under Pep and the Spanish coach’s efforts, Neymar chose to go to Barcelona in the end. He cited Barcelona’s history of Brazilian legends and his personal admiration for Lionel Messi for making the decision.

Also recalling his rejection of Real Madrid’s offer, Neymar said, “At Madrid, I would have earned three times as much. Florentino [Perez] always liked me. But Ronaldinho had played at Barca, and I wanted to play with Messi.”

The allure of following in the footsteps of Brazilian legends at Barcelona, like Ronaldinho, Romario, Rivaldo, and even Ronaldo Nazario and of playing alongside Messi made his decision to join Barcelona easier as Neymar concluded, “In the end, I decided to sign for Barcelona.”

The decision defined Neymar’s career as he formed a renowned partnership with Lionel Messi and later Luis Suarez. He won the Champions League with them and his legacy has only spread further because of it. Recently NBA star player Jimmy Butler chose to wear No. 10 jersey with the Warriors in honour of Neymar. It’s pretty clear how well the choice worked out for the Brazilian star.

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Moumita Dutta

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Football writer at The Playoffs. I’ve been obsessed with the beautiful game since I was a kid.. Eventually, I realized I could combine my passion for writing with my love for football, and I’ve never looked back. My favorite part of the job is everything—when you’re doing what you love, even a late-night deadline feels like extra time in a thrilling cup final. Lastly, Lionel Messi is the GOAT.