Barcelona signs Neto in swap of backup keepers with Valencia
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona says Brazilian goalkeeper Neto will sign a four-year contract with the Spanish champions.
The transfer completes a swap a day after Barcelona sold Jasper Cillessen to Valencia.
Barcelona says it is paying 26 million euros ($29.5 million) plus possibly another 9 million euros ($10.2 million) in variables for Neto. Valencia paid Barcelona 35 million euros ($40 million) for Cillessen.
Neto will replace Cillessen, who played as a backup for Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the Champions League and the Spanish league and only regularly started in the Copa del Rey.
The 29-year-old Neto helped Valencia qualify for the Champions League with a fourth-place finish for the past two seasons in Spain. He also played in Italy at Juventus as a backup to Gianluigi Buffon and at Fiorentina after starting at Brazilian club Paranaense.
