Santos wants to hold on to Neymar - president

24 July 2011 10:00

Santos want to keep teenage striker Neymar, the Brazilian club's president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro said Sunday in an interview published in Spain.

The gifted 19-year-old, fresh from winning the Copa Libertadores with Santos, has been linked for months to a move to Real Madrid or Chelsea but Ribeiro told sports daily AS that the starlet would stay at the club.

"That is my intention, my goal. I have spoken a lot with his father. And we are going to restart those talks now. It would not make any sense for him to leave now," he added.

Ribeiro said he has told Real president Florentino Perez that Neymar is "indispensible for us for at least another six months. And the desire of the player has yet to be defined."

Chelsea had an initial approach for the 19-year-old turned down last year .

Neymar's current deal with Santos is worth almost two million dollars a season through to 2015.

Source: AFP