Neymar da Silva Santos Jnior, or more commonly known as Neymar Jr., is one of the most famous professional soccer players in the world. He was born February 5th, 1992 in Mogi das Cruzes, So Paulo, Brazil. He is currently 28 years old and grew up playing soccer in Brazil. His dad was a professional soccer player and has been his mentor since a young age. He has played for multiple successful clubs over the years.
Neymar has jumped club locations from South America to Spain, and now to France. However, he still continues to play for his home country of Brazil and played in the recent Olympics and World Cup. He is a fun player to watch that typically plays forward or left winger. He is creative, fast and an excellent attacker. Neymar Jr. is adored by millions of football fans around the entire world.
Neymar Jr. first started playing soccer in the streets of So Vicent, Brazil. When his family moved to Santos, he joined the elite soccer club Santos FC and played five seasons for them. He made his professional debut with Santos FC at only 17 years old in 2009.
Neymar started to gain global recognition as a rising star and brought unparalleled success to his club team. He played with the Brazilian Youth National teams growing up, but made his debut match for the senior Brazilian National team in 2010. He has been playing with the national team ever since and helped earn Brazil's first gold medal win at the 2016 Olympics. In 2013, Neymar left Santos to play for FC Barcelona, alongside other stars Messi and Suarez. After dominating for four seasons, Neymar left and signed with French club Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. He is currently with PSG club.
Neymar Jr. has accumulated many team and individual awards throughout his career. He has played in over 636 professional matches, with 101 appearances specifically with the Brazilian National team. Neymar has scored 405 goals along with 226 recorded assists, making it no surprise that he has won 53 renown individual awards.
With his first professional club Santos FC, he was awarded South American Footballer of the Year in 2011 and 2012. Additionally, he was named the Brazilian Footballer of the Year in 2011. Neymar has played in two World Cups and won Olympic Gold for his team in 2016 with a winning penalty. He won the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup in 2015 with FC Barcelona. He was recently named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 2018 for his current club PSG. His new club has been the French Champion in the Ligue the past three years.
Neymar is one of the most famous athletes in the world. He was this year's fourth highest paid athlete in the world with $95.5 million in earnings. Of his earnings, $70.5 million is from his salary and $25 million from endorsements. His recent move to Paris Saint-Germain was for 198 million, where he will take home 27 million every year!
Neymar inherited his incredible soccer talent from his father, Neymar Santos Sr, who was a professional soccer player. His father pushed him to be the best and eventually became his agent. His family consists of his parents and his sister. Neymar has a close relationship with his sister Rafaella. In August 2011, Neymar and his former girlfriend Carolina Dantas had a son and named him David Lucca. His marital status is single. He is an avid Christian and has many tattoos that symbolize his faith, family, and history.
When Neymar left FC Barcelona in 2017 for his new French club PSG, a lawsuit quickly followed him. Neymar left FC Barcelona after signing a fairly new deal. In the lawsuit, FC Barcelona is asking Neymar to return the already paid portion regarding his contract renewal due to the failure of completing his new contract. Additionally, FC Barcelona is asking for 8.5 million Euros in damages and an additional 10% due to delayed payment.
The 2014 World Cup was held in Neymar's home country of Brazil. In the quarterfinal match against Colombia, Neymar was lifted off the field in a stretcher in immense pain. He broke a bone in his back after a challenge with Colombian defender Juan Zuniga. Neymar's hope for a World Cup victory in his home country was cut short. After Neymar was sidelined due to this injury, Brazil lost in the semifinal match to Germany.
Neymar is a fun and exciting player to watch on the pitch. He is one of the best soccer players in the world with millions of fans watching every game. Neymar is known for being confident on the field with explosive speed, great balance on the ball, and quick reflexes. He is a great speed dribbler and can find the back of the net with his incredible finishing abilities.
For his first professional club Santos FC, he played in 225 games and recorded 136 goals. After leaving Santos FC in 2013, he decided to go play for FC Barcelona. For this club, he played in 186 games and scored 105 goals during his four seasons with them. In 2017, he left FC Barcelona for the French club PSG. He currently has played in 80 games and has recorded 69 goals for his new club.