Neymar: 13 things to know about the ‘pitch artist’ from Samba

Born on February 5, 1992 in Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo (Brazil), Neymar started playing football as a young boy. At the age of 11, he joined the Santos club’s academy.

In 2009, at the age of 17, Neymar had his first professional match at Santos. He quickly became one of the most promising stars of Brazilian football. He helped Santos win the Copa do Brasil in 2010 and the Copa Libertadores in 2011, contributing many important goals throughout these two campaigns.

In 2011, Neymar made his debut for the Brazilian national team and immediately became a mainstay at the Samba team. He helped his team win the Confederations Cup championship in 2013 and the 2016 Olympic gold medal. Thanks to his excellent performance in the Santos shirt, Neymar immediately caught the attention of a series of big clubs in Europe. Finally, he chose Barcelona as the first stop on his expedition to the old continent.

At Camp Nou, he along with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez became an extremely fearsome attacking trio, culminating in the treble in 2015.

Here are 13 facts about Neymar you may not have heard.
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The family has a sporting tradition

Neymar’s father, Neymar da Silva Sr., was a football player and played in Brazil for many clubs. He was also Neymar’s first coach and a person who had a great influence on him during his first days of contact with the ball. Besides, Neymar also has a younger sister, Rafaella Beckran, who is also a professional player. She used to be on the staff of the Santos women’s team, before leaving her football career behind to focus on the fashion industry.

Reached 100 goals on his 20th birthday

On his 20th birthday, Neymar scored his 100th goal for Santos in a league match against Palmeiras. Unfortunately, his team lost 1-2.

Almost joined Real Madrid

It may sound unbelievable, but the former Barcelona star was very close to joining Real Madrid. This story happened when Neymar was 13 years old. At that time, he and his father moved to Madrid in 2005 and started training there. He also took pictures at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium and even went into the team’s dressing room.

Real Madrid seemed ready to sign him, but Santos unexpectedly intervened at the last minute. They succeeded in convincing Neymar Sr. to keep him in Brazil.

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Most expensive player of all time

In 2017, Neymar once again set another record in the transfer market, this time with PSG. The amount of 222 million Euro is almost double the previous record, making him the most expensive signature in soccer.

Almost joined West Ham!

In 2010, West Ham United was one of the teams pursuing Neymar. They were said to be willing to spend 16 million Euros to convince Santos to release him, but were flatly refused. It was not until 2013 that Neymar officially went to Europe by joining Barcelona.

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Santos logo

In 2011, Neymar helped Santos end a 48-year drought for the Copa Libertadores title. During that year’s tournament, he scored six goals, including two against Uruguayan club Penarol in the final.

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Be an Olympic champion

In 2016, Neymar was the nucleus of the Olympic team on the journey to winning the gold medal at the Summer Olympics taking place in Rio de Janeiro. This is Brazil’s first gold medal in men’s soccer in the history of participating in the Olympics, marking a special milestone in the history of Samba football. Neymar is the captain of the Selecao at this tournament. He scored a total of 4 goals, including scoring on a free kick in the final against Germany.

The match ended 1-1. In the penalty shootout, Neymar scored the decisive kick, helping his team win the match. Neymar’s performance at the Olympics that year made him remembered forever.

Owns the fastest goal in Olympic history

Also at the 2016 Olympics, Neymar made history as the fastest player to score a goal. He did this in the match against Honduras when it took only 14 seconds for the ball to find the back of the net.

Twice received the ‘South American Player of the Year’ award

Neymar won the ‘South American Player of the Year’ award twice, in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

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Am a die-hard basketball fan

Neymar is an enthusiastic fan of basketball. He is often seen at basketball games and is a fan of many NBA clubs. In particular, he is a huge fan of LeBron James and has repeatedly expressed his admiration for the Los Angeles Lakers star.

In 2018, Neymar went to watch the match between Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets in Houston, part of the NBA framework. That day, he also wore an NBA shirt, next to James and Stephen Curry. Needless to say, Neymar also regularly posts articles about basketball on social networks and often plays this sport with other players.

Neymar Jr.

Blockbuster contract with Puma!

In September 2020, Neymar signed a long-term contract with the famous German sports company Puma, after closing the cooperation period with Nike. This deal is said to be worth up to 25 million Euros/year, knowing that Neymar has become one of Puma’s most paid ambassadors.

As part of the agreement between the two sides, Neymar became the face of Puma in football tournaments. He has worn Puma shoes on the field since October 2020. Off the field, Neymar also cooperates with Puma in promoting clothing and sports shoe collections.

This seems to be a bargain for Puma, especially when they are still trying to find their position in the football market. Following Neymar’s signing, they also launched the ‘Only See Great’ campaign, with the goal of bringing a feeling of positivity and confidence to customers. Neymar is the main face of this campaign as he regularly appears on many social media platforms.

Appeared in Money Heist!

Neymar was a guest in a famous television series called La Casa de Papel. He plays a Brazilian monk named Monje Joao.

Third most followed player on Instagram

With over 200 million followers on Instagram, Neymar is the third most followed football player on the social media platform.