Those Neymar to Manchester United rumours have finally got a response from Jose Mourinho

It's a story that won't go away.

Neymar to Manchester United is not only a headline writer's dream, but one of those persistent links that simply refuses to disappear into the ether of idle gossip of yore. Old Trafford chief exec Ed Woodward is known for his penchant for big name signings which help drive up revenue and the profile of the club, and so many speculate that the Brazilian would be the ultimate catch. The term 'no smoke without fire' is regularly quoted when such rumours refuse to die, and that tends to be quite true. However, the 'fire' in question is often journalists looking for a story to blow up, or more likely agents hoping to negotiate bigger and more bountiful contracts for their clients. Certainly it does no harm to the players in question to be linked with the biggest or richest clubs in the world. Speaking to ESPN, Jose Mourinho was talking about transfers and the need to be realistic in his targets, and fair play to him, he touched upon the stubborn Neymar links. What he said was utterly sensible but bad news for transfer muppets everywhere.

"I always try to be objective and pragmatic with the clubs and ask the clubs for what can be given to me," he explained.

"[However] Neymar is absurd. A club like Barcelona cannot and will not lose Neymar. Although [Lionel] Messi is still a young player with years to go, he is already 30*, and Neymar will be the great player of Barcelona after Messi. I think [trying to sign him is like] going to try to break into a safe, impossible."

Will that bring an end to the rumours once and for all? We doubt it.

*Messi's 29, but tomato/tomahto.