Santos striker Neymar has revealed that Pep Guardiola, whom he refers to as his ‘dad,’ once promised to change his name if Neymar didn’t score at least 60 goals in a season.
Neymar shared this story while discussing Guardiola’s attempts to sign him for Bayern Munich in the past.
The Brazilian forward explained that after winning the Puskás Award, he was close to joining the Bundesliga giants due to Guardiola’s strong interest. Neymar recalled a late-night call from his “dad” at 2 AM, which led to an unexpected meeting.
“I almost went to Bayern… because of Pep Guardiola. After I won the Puskás Award, my dad kept calling me at 2 AM. I answered, and he told me to open the door… I was in boxers,” Neymar told Fabrizio Romano.
“When I opened the door, it was my dad, Pep Guardiola, and the translator,” he continued. “Pep told me, ‘I want to sign you and bring you with me, to whatever club I go to. I will make you the best player in the world.’”
Neymar added that Guardiola showed him a paper on his laptop, explaining where he would play and what his future would look like. “Pep also said, ‘If you don’t score 60 goals in a season, I’ll change my name.’”
Neymar was curious about which team Guardiola was talking about. “I said, ‘Okay, but what team?’ Pep replied, ‘I can’t tell you yet because it’s not out yet.’”
Eventually, Neymar was convinced that Guardiola would join Bayern Munich. Despite Guardiola’s persuasion, Neymar ultimately chose to join Barcelona instead.
Since then, Neymar has gone on to play for Paris Saint-Germain and Al-Hilal in his career.
