Manchester City allowed Neymar to join Barcelona last year over a row regarding his boots! Neymar was sold by Santos to Barca for a fee in the region of £70 million.
However, the Telegraph says before his move to the Nou Camp, City had made attempts to convince Neymar to leave Santos for Manchester, with Txiki Begiristain, the director of football, leading efforts to clinch the player's signature.
Senior figures at City were stunned, however, by Neymar's claim that he would require special football boots in order to play in the Premier League as a result of his belief that the weather and pitches in England would be too heavy for traditional footwear.
It is understood that the Neymar camp suggested to City that the forward would need new footwear capable of enabling him to keep his footing on the muddy pitches of the Premier League.
Rather than treat Neymar's demands seriously, however, City withdrew from the race to sign the player.