Neymar urged by Pele to avoid transfer to Chelsea in 2010

Chelsea were on the verge of solving their long-term solution at the striker position in 2010 when the club approached Brazilian side Santos with a large transfer bid for the services of an 18-year-old Neymar.

Unfortunately for the London based club, the Brazilian star was persuaded by two convincing figures to stay at Santos. The first was Luis Álvaro, president of Santos, who organized a meeting with Neymar and his father at the club's headquarters in August 2010.

"Chelsea had made a huge transfer bid," Neymar, 22, wrote in his autobiography, via the Daily Mail. "In the middle of our conversation, the president turned off the lights and pointed at an empty chair.

"'This is the chair of the great national sports hero. Since Ayrton Senna's death, this chair is vacant. If Neymar Jr stays in Santos and refuses Chelsea's proposal, he will give his first step to sit in this chair.'"

If that wasn't enough to entice the young Brazilian to stay, as he pondered the biggest decision of his career to that point, maybe a call from the most revered figure in Brazilian football history would do the trick.

"...Even Pele called me. Can you imagine how important I felt? The King of Football called and asked me to stay.

"He reminded me of his entire career with Santos, his five world titles with the national team and the club, and all the recognition he received. It wasn't easy but it was the right decision for us. We did the right thing for our family, friends and my career."

Neymar would go on to play another three seasons with Santos before signing with Barcelona in 2013 for a reported £50 million. The transfer amount paid for the Brazilian, however, was recently investigated by the prosecutor's office in Madrid. Club president Sandro Rossell resigned from his position when a judged ordered the investigation into the misappropriation of funds surrounding the transfer from Santos to Spain.