“I have no idea where that came from, but it’s not true.”

Santos have denied rumours that Manchester United failed with a last gasp bid to sign Brazilian starlet Neymar.

Neymar is well on his way to superstardom and is the golden boy of Brazilian football at the moment. Having impressed for Santos, he also did his reputation no harm with his showing at the Olympics this summer.

It is widely thought that Neymar will end up in La Liga when he finally decides to make his way to Europe, but The Sun claimed last night that United attempted to sign the striker on the final day of the transfer window in an attempt to crash Barcelona and Real Madrid’s party.

But Santos wasted no time in rubbishing The Sun’s claims with football director Felipe Faro telling Globo Esporte:

“I have no idea where that [story] came from, but it’s not true.”

Neymar’s father further spoke on speculation surrounding his son, saying:

“Neymar was sold two years ago but we are still here.”

“He is ready to play football. We talked a lot and the fields are the same worldwide. Of course he needs to develop. We made the choice that he will mature in Brazil.

“He will inevitably go to Europe someday, but for now he is happy in Brazil.”