Linking up with Messi thrills €57m man Neymar

The thought of playing alongside Lionel Messi has Neymar feeling like “one of the luckiest men in the world” after the Brazilian committed five years of his career to Barcelona yesterday.

The 21-year-old striker flew to Barcelona yesterday morning to sign a five-year contract with the Catalan giants, with €57 million going to Santos nine days after a preliminary agreement between the clubs was made public.

After posing for photographers and passing a two-part medical at Barca’s offices, Neymar put pen to paper on a deal running through to June 2018 in the presence of president Sandro Rosell, vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu and sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta.