English Premier League powerhouse Manchester United is prepared to pay Neymar's £157 million release clause in Barcelona to take him in this summer, recent reports said.

The Daily Express reported that according to the Brazil international's agent, Wagner Ribeiro, three of the richest clubs in football today are "ready to splash out" the £157 million transfer fee required to sign his client, which are rumored to be United, La Liga's Real Madrid, and Ligue 1's Paris Saint-Germain.

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"There are three big clubs in the world that want to sign Neymar and pay a clause of €200m (£157m) to Barcelona," Ribeiro disclosed. "I cannot say more than this because it is sensitive. I can only guarantee that Neymar is happy at Barcelona."

It should be noted that the Red Devils' executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had approached Barça last summer of a possible Neymar transfer deal, but they were shut down by the Catalan giants.

Rumors abound since then that Neymar, who is under contract with the Blaugrana until 2018, had been having trouble negotiating for a contract extension and could choose to leave the Camp Nou if an offer is received.

Another reason why the Seleção captain could decide to exit are the reported tax issues he had been facing in Spain for the past year.

New United head coach Jose Mourinho is said to have been given by the club a huge £300 million transfer kitty to try and form his own championship team in Manchester, but it is not immediately known whether the Special One is indeed interested in spending a little more than half of it for just a single player.

Meanwhile, Football Talk indicated that even if the Red Devils agreed to pay Neymar's clause, it does not guarantee them that the 24-year-old Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil native will join them this summer as all parties must agree with the transfer for it to push through.

As his agent attested, Neymar is happy with all the winning that is happening at the Nou Camp at the moment and he is said to be not yet ready for it to end.

TagsFootball News & Rumors, Football News & Rumors 2016, neymar, FC Barcelona, Manchester United