Barcelona star Neymar has dismissed rumours surrounding a potential move to Manchester United, stating he is happy in Spain.
It was reported throughout the summer that Man United were keen on luring the Brazilian to Old Trafford ahead of the 2016/17 season.
But Neymar, amid interest from various clubs, decided to remain at Barcelona this summer, signing a contract extension with Luis Enrique.
The 24-year-old made it clear that he is extremely happy at Barcelona, and doesn’t envisage a move away from the Camp Nou anytime soon.
“I don’t see myself away from Barca. It’s not something I’ve pictured yet,” he said.
“I feel like an important part of the team and hopefully I can help them more and more. I’ve already said that, yes, I was in talks with many different teams and I chose to stay here, where I feel at home. As I said, I belong to Barca and I’m really happy here.”
Neymar’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro, claimed he was close to joining Jose Mourinho before eventually deciding to extend his contract with the Catalan side.
“Neymar was also close to joining Manchester United but he extended his contract to earn less at Barcelona because he wanted to stay.”
The image of Neymar skipping past confused defenders, linking up with Marcus Rashford, and feeding the ball to Zlatan Ibrahimovic to slam home is a salivating prospect for every United fan.
On top of his undoubted ability, the Brazilian possesses that aura of arrogance and chutzpah that Mourinho aims to instil at Old Trafford.
It is, therefore, an agony to Old Trafford faithful to see him pledge his long-term future to Barcelona. But who can blame him? Alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, Neymar is well-positioned to dominate European football in the coming years.
Meanwhile, Manchester United will travel to Vicarage Road to face Watford as they look to bounce back from the Europa League loss in midweek.
United suffered a shocking defeat in the Europa league on Thursday, which means Manchester United have now lost two games in a row since the arrival of the “special one.”
United will be without Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan due to a thigh problem. Eric Bailey sustained a slight knock against Feyenoord, but he is expected to start against the Hornets. If he fails to do so, Chris Smalling will partner with Daley Blind in the heart of defence.
Matteo Darmian and Marcos Rojo started for Manchester United in the last game, but Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw will start in their place vs. Watford.
Bastian Schweinsteiger will not play any part in this game. The German has been exiled from the first team by Mourinho, and his availability this season remains a complete mystery.