Brazilian star reveals he nearly joined Bayern Munich | OneFootball

Neymar Jr. could have signed for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2013. The Brazil all-time record scorer revealed in the podcast Podpah that Pep Guardiola came to his hotel room in the middle of the night after the Puskas award ceremony and tried to convince the then-Santos player to sign for the German record Champions.

The former Barcelona manager explained to him in detail the role he would play at Bayern. In his pitch, Guardiola even went as far as promising to make Neymar the best player in the world.

Pep's bold assurance to Neymar of him getting 60 goals a season may have been a bit of a pie in the sky, especially considering no player aside from Messi has ever reached that mark under the Spanish coach. However, it’s not hard to imagine Neymar truly flourishing in that Bayern setup, with his talent and flair shining through in a team that is one of or if not the the best in Europe at that time.

Had Pep successfully convinced Neymar to join Bayern, the Brazilian winger would come into a team fresh off a historic European treble win. He would have joined an attack already featuring world-class players such as Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry, Thomas Müller, Mario Götze, Mario Mandžukić, and, in the year to follow, even Robert Lewandowski.

Pep Guardiola's Bayern would face Neymar a few years down the line in the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2015. Neymar scored three times for FC Barcelona across both legs knocking Bayern out of the tournament. The Brazilian faced Bayern a few more times while as a PSG player later on. The biggest clash, undoubtedly, being the 2020 Champions League final where his contributions weren't enough to help PSG beat Bayern as the Bavarians went on to become six time European champions.

Neymar further revealed that along with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid also attempted to secure his signature. The Los Blancos laid out an open check in front of him, but the Brazilian ultimately chose FC Barcelona as his destination. The Brazilian wanted to follow in the footsteps of Ronaldinho and play alongside Messi at FC Barcelona. Neymar would go on to win several trophies at Barcelona, including the coveted UEFA Champions League, while establishing himself as one the best players of his generation.