Ajax's David Neres Almost Left for China, Now He Is Eyeing Glory and a Big Move
In the early days of January this year, with the Eredivisie in the middle of its winter break, Ajax boarded a plane and traveled to the United States to take part in the Florida Cup exhibition tournament. Besides preparing for the second half of the season, the exciting crop of youngsters from Amsterdam could relax and get some rest.
With fixtures against Brazilian powerhouses Flamengo and Sao Paulo on the schedule, Ajax winger David Neres was in high demand, with reporters from his homeland keen to catch a word with him.
However, any exclusive interview request with him came with it a direct warning from Ajax's media team.
"If you mention China, I'll take him out," said one of the officers in Orlando.
A €45 million offer for Neres was on the table from Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande and the Brazilian winger was considering his options. At that time, the then-21-year-old wasn't on the best of terms with coach Erik ten Hag. Neres was finding it hard to accept a spell on the bench, especially after a standout performance against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
The club's fans seemed to be in his corner and launched a "Free Neres" campaign on social media.
Ajax, on the other hand, were pondering letting him go if they managed to secure Mexican teenager Diego Lainez from Club America. However, by the end of the January transfer window, Lainez chose to join Real Betis instead of Ajax, forcing sporting director Marc Overmars to refuse the mega-bid from China.
It proved to be turning point for Neres' season, and likely for his career.
"[If I had gone to the Chinese Super League] I think I wouldn't be here now because the Champions League gets you into the limelight," he admitted in a press conference with the Brazil national team in March.
Until then, regardless of his recent form, Neres had never been called up to an international camp.
It took so long for him to be noticed that some back home jokingly suggested Brazil's boss Tite must have thought he was Dutch and his actual name was "David van der Neres."
The football world knows his name now, though.
Alongside the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Dusan Tadic, Neres helped guide Ajax to their first Champions League semi-finals since the 1996-97 season. Tottenham Hotspur stand between them and a place in the final.
Arguably the most talented Brazilian to play in the Netherlands since Ronaldo in the 1990s, Neres was key in the historic 4-1 win against Real Madrid in the round of 16, scoring once and delighting fans with his skills. "Neres, we thank your mother," reacted a Dutch commentator after his masterclass at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
In the quarter-finals, facing Juventus, he netted once again, cutting inside and curling a fantastic finish into the top corner to level the score at 1-1 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. His shot kept hopes alive for Turin, and the rest is history. A 2-1 second-leg victory continued Ajax's fairytale run.
Neres' confidence has never been higher.
One of the most talked-about players in Europe right now, he has been unstoppable on occasions, showing he's more than a dribbler and improving his end product week in and week out.
Extravagant on the pitch, the No. 7 is usually a completely different person off it. He is very shy and reserved. Journalists who ask him questions in post-match mixed zones usually have to settle for monosyllabic answers.
He's starting to speak in English more often and has also developed a reputation in Amsterdam for beginning his reply to every question with "It's crazy."
He's improving, though, and getting more comfortable with the limelight.
When Neres reported to Brazil camp for a friendly against Panama in Porto, Portugal, in March, he was subjected to a tradition for newcomers inside the team. After dinner, he had to stand up on a chair, introduce himself and say a few words in front of his new team-mates.
And that was the moment he created a stir on his first call-up.
As he began his speech, mentioning people who had been important throughout his journey, he thanked his family, buddies, girlfriend and also dedicated a special word to Casemiro. A reference, of course, to the 4-1 thrashing of Real Madrid a few days previous. Everyone laughed out loud inside the room, except for Casemiro.
Neres revealed in an interview with Het Parool newspaper that the defensive midfielder looked angry and did not seem to have enjoyed the joke at all. He later apologised and cleared the air.
The skilful, pacey and agile Brazilian expresses himself much better when running into the box like he did against Real Madrid to finish off Tadic's outrageous assist for the second goal in Ajax's already iconic 4-1 success in Madrid.
Ajax paid €15 million to bring Neres to Europe in the winter of 2017 despite the fact that he had played just eight senior games for Sao Paulo.
That made him the club's second-most-expensive signing ever at the time, behind Miralem Sulejmani from SC Heerenveen in 2008. It suddenly became clear that pressure would come from everywhere.
A few months after his arrival, former midfielder Ronald de Boer wrote a column for Voetbal International (h/t UOL) arguing he was still not convinced about his purchase. At that same time, Neres was being branded overpriced by his own bosses. "We have just paid too much, we know that, in relation to other transfers, but we had been chasing him for a year already," Overmars admitted.
The potential was there, but something was still missing.
Fortunately, the phonebook of Ajax's chief executive Edwin van der Sar proved helpful at that moment.
"To be honest, they [Ajax] were not hopeful he would excel in the way he's doing now. Right in the first months, Van der Sar called me and asked me if I could come around to the training sessions and hang out with them. Neres was struggling a lot to adapt to the new culture, climate, language and playing system," Wamberto, a Brazilian former Ajax forward, tells Bleacher Report.
"Back then, I was spending some time in Russia with one of my sons, Wanderson, who is a defender for Krasnodar, and bought a flight ticket to Amsterdam right away.
"Neres plays more or less in the same position I used to play, so, among other things, they asked me to translate the tactical instructions for him. It was Van der Sar, Aaron Winter, who is now working as assistant coach, and me. A while after that, he started progressing and settling in at the club."
Even in Portuguese, Wamberto had a hard time initially figuring out how to get closer to Neres and winning his trust.
"In the beginning, he was a bit shy, didn't speak much—while I said 10 words, he would say one," adds the member of Ajax veterans' side, laughing.
At first, watching Neres' behaviour may give the impression that he's sullen and has a couldn't-care-less attitude, but one could not be more wrong.
He has gone through a lot in his life, having come from Perus, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in western Sao Paulo, with drugs and crime constantly lurking.
He used to share a small apartment with his parents and three siblings, but, a few years later, the right-winger moved into Sao Paulo's famed academy Cotia, arguably the most impressive finishing school in South American football.
He had everything a young player could possibly need there, and attended some of the best private schools in town, but that was also when problems started for him.
"He has a natural talent, but was perhaps too reserved and faced some prejudice while he was growing up. Being a kid from the outskirts of the city isn't easy if you are in a private school," says Marcelo Lima, a former Sao Paulo youth football coordinator, in an interview to B/R.
"He got involved in some fight at school when he was in our U16 age group and one of Sao Paulo's officers decided to send him back to his parents' house in Perus. I have no doubt the officer's main goal was to screw Neres' life, making it more difficult for him to attend classes and then getting him expelled from the club.
"One morning, Orlando [Ribeiro, coach] and me went to our director [Geraldo Oliveira, who passed away in 2017] and explained what was going on. He immediately ordered Neres to return to Cotia's facilities. So, this is the sort of thing he had to cope with. He was so quiet that he couldn't even stand up for himself in school."
When you face such situations, it's only natural to create a self-defense mechanism and become suspicious of those around you.
Perhaps, that's one of the reasons why when Brazil's head coach Tite called his phone to welcome him to the national team, he ignored it. Not recognising the number, Neres declined to answer, he told De Telegraaf last month.
Neres takes all calls from Lucas Fernandes, however.
A former Cotia graduate currently on loan at Portuguese side Portimonense, Fernandes is Neres' best friend in football. At Sao Paulo, some rated him higher than the Ajax winger, and the two of them dream about reuniting in Europe.
"He's one of the nicest guys I've ever known. It's a shame most people don't get to see this side of him. He's a bit reserved, quieter, a man of few words when he's around strangers. But he is the sort of person who values friendship and you can always count on," Fernandes tells B/R.
"How can you say anything negative of a kid who used to sleep with a teddy bear on his bed? It's impossible."
Fernandes had planned to watch Neres' brilliant performance against Real Madrid in person but missed the flight because a training session ran late.
"I still want to see him in action this season. Maybe in the Champions League final in Madrid. It would be a dream come true," he continues.
"It's amazing how much he has developed on and off the pitch. We've known each other since we were around 13 years old. Back then, he didn't even play in the forward line, he was sometimes used as a left-back, other times as a centre-back. But his dribbling has always been this exceptional."
If Fernandes does not see Neres lining up for Ajax this season, he might not get another chance.
Living in a modern house in IJburg, an Amsterdam district built over a number of artificial islands, Neres likes to spend some of his spare time feeding the ducks from his deck, but he's looking forward to moving elsewhere.
Sources close to his representatives have told B/R that leaving Ajax at the end of this season looks extremely likely. However, it remains to be seen what his next destination will be.
After scoring 14 goals and providing 13 assists in the 2017-18 Eredivisie season, Neres told Goal in November that Borussia Dortmund and Roma came asking for him but were both turned down.
His Champions League adventures have won even more admirers and international recognition this term.
B/R understands Everton, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain have already held preliminary talks about a potential deal, with a big-money move away from the Johan Cruijff ArenA being discussed between the parties since February.
After refusing a €45 million offer from Guangzhou Evergrande in January, Ajax expect a large transfer fee for his services.
Before cashing in on Neres, though, the Dutch giants want the Brazilian to win his first professional title. Ajax are top of the Eredivise and also in the Dutch Cup final, but after knocking out Real Madrid and Juventus, the Champions League is the prize they covet most of all. Watch out, Tottenham.
Follow Marcus on Twitter: @_marcus_alves
