Why Neymar dumped Real for Barca after Bernabéu medical

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez claims Barcelona superstar Neymar Jr reportedly had a medical at Real Madrid and almost joined the club before signing for the Catalans.

Neymar joined Barcelona in the summer of 2013 and has since gone on to be one of their major stars in an attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

However, Perez said Real almost completed a deal for the Brazilian but could not quite get it over the line.

Perez in an interview with Spanish radio station OndaCero as quoted in The Daily Mail said: “Neymar passed a medical with Madrid. We tried for him to come, but we saw at one point that it was not possible and we withdrew.”

After Neymar joined Barca, Real turned their attention to Gareth Bale, signing the Welshman on 2013 summer transfer deadline day for a world-record fee from Tottenham.

Bale endured a tough campaign last season, a number of injuries restricting his involvement. He started the Champions League final, played in his home city of Cardiff, on the bench.