The Brazilian, 24 on Friday, would be a perfect successor for the fading Portuguese, who is 31 on the same day - and that is why Real Madrid's interest in him persists:-
Real Madrid were right about Neymar. The Brazilian was correctly indentified by Los Blancos as football's next big thing, but he moved to Barcelona instead. Two and a half years on, however, and with Cristiano Ronaldo not the force he once was, the former Santos striker would be a fantastic fit in the Portuguese's position.

Barca beat Madrid to the player's signature in 2013 and Real turned to Gareth Bale instead, but president Florentino Perez later admitted: "Had Neymar arrived, I'm sure we wouldn't have signed Bale."

Following his move to Camp Nou, Neymar's first goal gifted the Blaugrana the Spanish Supercopa, but it turned out to be the only trophy in a difficult debut season as Bale ended up hitting vital strikes in the finals of both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.