That Manchester United are reportedly interested in Barcelona forward Neymar, one of the best players in the world, is no surprise. But why would the Brazil international swap Camp Nou for Old Trafford?

Even if United stumped up a world-record €200 million fee for him, Neymar may not want to move. Here are five reasons why.

Jose Mourinho

Yes, Mourinho is one of the best coaches in the world and, as Neymar said recently in reference to the former Real Madrid boss and Pep Guardiola, "these are coaches any player would like to play for." But there are numerous issues with Neymar playing under Mourinho.

Firstly (and it is hard to find a player Mourinho has NOT criticised), Neymar has taken both barrels from the coach for his diving against Celtic in 2013. Not a comment that would destroy their relationship, certainly, but it is hard to imagine a disciplinarian like Mourinho letting his star player head back to Brazil to celebrate his sister's birthday each year, for example.

Mourinho's style of play also requires a diligent team effort, defending from the front, and if Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still around if he joins, then having two players in the XI who could overlook their defensive duties may prove too costly.

Finally, Mourinho has a habit of criticising players that he doesn't get along with: notably Luke Shaw and, earlier in the season, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. As Luis Enrique said about Neymar last year "he has his own style" -- but the only style that Mourinho is interested in is his own. Having a free spirit like Neymar on his team seems like an easy way to press his buttons.

The Premier League's style

Despite his comments about being keen to test himself, you don't have to go back very far to find an example of a Neymar-type player failing in the Premier League. Robinho joined Manchester City in 2008 for £32.5 million and almost immediately realised it was not the place for him to be pulling out the flicks and tricks as the slight Brazilian was being closed down quickly by teams eager to impose their physicality on him.

Neymar has more about him, but the English game does not seem very suited to a player who prefers plenty of time and space on the ball to work his magic. In general, Brazil's top stars have been a bit hit-and-miss in the Premier League over the years and, although the 23-year-old clearly has the skills to take to the league as the likes of Philippe Coutinho or Willian have done, one does feel that a few bad games will have the Robinho comparisons splashed all over the back pages.

Money

Quite aside from whether or not United would be willing to stump up a release clause that tops £170m (€200m), the player himself would have to make more money than any of his teammates at Old Trafford.

Reportedly the second-highest earner at Barcelona on £250,000-a-week (the same as Wayne Rooney at United), he would be looking to eclipse the reported £290,000-a-week paid to Paul Pogba as United's top earner. That could cause some waves around squad, especially when you consider that 19-year-old Marcus Rashford still just earns around £25,000-a-week.

His friends

How does one break up a trio like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez? The three forwards are close friends at Barcelona and their understanding is clear both on and off the pitch.

In Manchester, Neymar would find only Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia and Sergio Romero for company from South America -- with the club employing none of his fellow countrymen to make him feel more at home. Culturally, a move to another country is tough enough but he would certainly miss his best friends if he were to leave Barcelona.

The weather

As Roma's Radja Nainggolan recently said about a move to Chelsea: "Bring me the sun and I'll come."

Neymar has made no secret of the fact he prefers the sunshine of Brazil and Barcelona to the weather in England. Back in 2011, while playing in London for the national team he said: "The [English] weather I don't like all that much, but I could get used to it."

The reality may tip the scales though. Barcelona had 51 days of rain in 2016; Manchester had over 250. Enough said.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by JONATHAN MOLYNEUX-CARTER

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