Neymar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Neymar

• Neymar wasn’t destined for fame right from birth as he was born into a modest family and had a rough time growing up.

  

• He was just 4 months old when he escaped a fatal car accident while he was travelling with his family.

  

• He attended one of the worst schools in his locality and used to study under candlelight as his family wasn’t able to pay electricity bills most of the time, and eventually had to move to their grandparents’ house to save some money, but had to live in a small room.

  

• He inherited football from his father who used to be a professional football player, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he encouraged Neymar to play football when he was around 3 years old, after which he started playing street football and futsal.

• As a kid, Neymar used to be a fun-loving and hyperactive boy, who was most of the time seen playing football and video games.

• His raw talent was first discovered by his first coach, Betinho when he was around 6 years old and was playing a beach soccer game in São Vicente.

  

• At the age of 7, he joined the ‘Portuguesa Santista youth club and developed tremendous football skills. and, in just a matter of few years, he was counted among one of the most promising young talents in Brazil.

  

• His father used to be so much busy while doing his multiple jobs to support his son’s football career, that he wasn’t able to see him play in his early football career.

• A the age of 11, he joined the youth system of ‘Santos FC’ and three years later, he earned a chance to continue his development with Real Madrid CF, but Santos knew his value and convinced him to stay with the club by giving him a huge bonus.

  

• In 2009, he made his senior debut for ‘Santos FC’ and made an impact straightaway by earning the award of the league’s ‘Best Young Player.’

  

• Around 14,000 fans requested and signed a petition and demanded the then Brazil team manager, Dunga, to include Neymar for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but he wasn’t picked.

• He became a father at the age of just 19, when his former girlfriend, Carolina Dantas, gave birth to their son, David Lucca.

  

• He celebrated his 20th birthday in style as he scored his 100th career goal that day.

• After his five-year-long stay at ‘Santos FC,’ he signed with ‘FC Barcelona’ on 27 May 2013 and joined them after the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. The Brazilians disliked it as it was a ‘cheap move’ for just €57.1 million.

  

• In February 2013, he became the first Brazilian athlete to appear on the cover of the ‘TIME’ magazine.

  

• He suffered from ‘anaemia,’ deficiency of red cells or of haemoglobin in the blood while playing for ‘FC Barcelona’ in his debut year.

• In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he very well carried the burned of expectations on his home turf of Brazil, as he scored 4 goals overall. But, the unexpected happened, on 4 July 2014, just minutes before Brazil won its quarterfinal match against Colombia, Neymar suffered a broken vertebra after a knee in the back from Colombia’s defender Juan Zuniga. The Brazil team couldn’t recover from the shocking loss of their star player and lost their semifinal match to Germany, 7-1.

  

• He became the captain of Brazil in September 2014 and captained them till 2016.

• In June 2015, Neymar helped FC Barcelona win the 2015 UEFA Champions League, La Liga, and Copa Libertadores. The attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar, named MSN, scored 122 goals, the most in a season of Spanish club competitions.

  

• He scored the winning goal for Brazil during the 5-4 penalty score against Germany in the 2016 Rio Olympics football final, helping Brazil win its first gold in Olympics football.

  

• On 2 April 2017, he scored his 100th goal for FC Barcelona during his 177th match for the club.

• In July 2017, Neymar expressed his desire to leave FC Barcelona. Rumours circulated in the media that he wanted to get out of Messi’s shadow.

• He is always thankful for what football has given him and made a successful attempt in 2017 to give something in return by starting a five-a-side football tournament called ‘Neymar Jr’s Five,’ where more than 60 countries take part.

  

• FC Barcelona announced on 3 August 2017 that Neymar’s legal team deposited €222 million to them which became the most expensive transfer. He signed a contract till 2022 with the French Club Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (PSG).

  

• During the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, he was trolled for his over-acting on the football field.

• He formed a very dangerous attacking combination with Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani and helped PSG reach the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2020 before losing to Bayern Munich which brought Neymar to tears.

  

• On 8 May 2021, he extended his contract with PSG till 2025. On 6 November 2021, he scored the 400th goal of his career.

• On 9 December 2022, during the match against Croatia in the quarterfinal of the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Russia, he became the joint-highest goalscorer for Brazil by scoring his 77th goal, tying him with Pele.

• Neymar signed a two-year contract with the Saudi club Al-Hilal on 15 August 2023 in the most expensive transfer in the Saudi Pro League. His weekly salary was reported to be £2.5 million.

  

• His transfer to Al-Hilal made the spotlight due to his demands from the Saudi club. Reportedly, he demanded three luxury cars,  a Bentley Continental GP, an Aston Martin DBX and a Lamborghini Huracan, four Mercedes G Wagons for his entourage, and a Mercedes van with a driver available round the clock.

• He requested a 25-bedroom mansion with a swimming pool and a refrigerator at his home to be always filled with Acai juice and Guarana drinks, and all the costs of his stays at hotels, restaurants and travel be covered by Al Hilal. He also asked for three saunas to be installed in his house and a sous chef to help his Brazilian chef. ^[15]Hindustan Times

• On 8 September 2023, he scored his 79th goal for Brazil during a qualification match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup scheduled in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, against Bolivia and became the highest goal scorer for Brazil.

  

• He was deregistered by Al-Hilal in January 2024 for the 2023-24 season after suffering an injury while being on national duty.

• He has a lifelong group of friends that are called ‘Toiss.’

  

• Just like Justin Beiber’s fans are called “Beliebers,” Neymar’s fans are called “Neymarzetes.” 

  

• He has made cameo appearances in music videos like- “Eu Quero Tchu, Eu Quero Tcha” by João Lucas & Marcelo (2012), and “Pais do Futebol” by MC Guime (2013).

• He has a comic series named after him called “Neymar Jr.,” which has been made by the famous Brazilian cartoonist, Mauricio de Sousa. 

  

• He had scored twice the amount of goals than what Ronaldo had at the same age of 23.

• He launched his music career in 2016 under the name Neymusico and released his first song on Facebook which was titled ‘Yo Necesito’ (I Need).

  

• Neymar has played in various positions. He has played as a second striker, winger, and an attacking midfielder. Brazil manager Tite often used him as a central strike in false 9, an unconventional lone striker or centre-forward role from deep midfield.

• His skills of dribbling, passing, finishing, feints, tricks, style of play, and playmaking have often been compared to the Brazilian great Ronaldinho.

  

• Neymar’s career has been plagued by many injuries which have often put him out of the field for many months. When he joined Barcelona in 2013, doctors advised him to gain weight to cope with the physical nature of European football (soccer).

• His antics on the field have been criticised by many players, coaches and fans. French footballer Eric Cantona once said that Neymar was a great actor and called him a wheeled suitcase that turns around for hours and hours on a gentle push.

• He has always been religious as he used to wear a headband bearing the words “100% Jesus,” and gives 10% of his income to the Church to serve Christ.

  

• He is a dog lover and has two pet dogs.

  

• Neymar is an NFT enthusiast. He owns many NFTs such as two from Bored Ape Yacht Club, one from the ACESnikers fashion collection, others from the Flipped BAYC, flipped CryptoPunks, and flipped Doodles.

  

• In October 2022, NFTSTAR Singapore PTE. Ltd. (popularly known as NFTSTR) released NFTs authorized by NR SPORTS, a company specializing in Neymar’s image management. These NFTs also provide access to Neymar’s metaverse.

  

• In an interview, he named Kyle Walker, a British footballer, as the toughest opponent he ever faced.

• Many critics have called Neymar the biggest footballer who never won any Ballon d’Or or World Cup. He has been called ‘the prince who never became a king’ by many media outlets.

• He has been associated with many charity programs of various organisations such as FIFA’s 11 Against Ebola campaign.

• He has been featured in various football video games including Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 and EA Sports’ FIFA video game series. He featured as a playable operator in the 2022 first-person shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.

  

• In 20221, he was featured in a documentary series Neymar and the Line of King, streamed on DAZN and a documentary series in 2022, titled Neymar: The Perfect Chaos was released on Netflix which was based on his life.

• He often celebrates his goals and other achievements with dance.

• In an interview, he said that had he not been a footballer, he would have become a musician. Interestingly, he cannot play any musical instrument.

• Neymar formed a charity group named the Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr. which funds the education of more than 10,000 children and families. The group also initiated the Together for the Amazon campaign regarding the conservation of the Amazon rainforest.

  

• Neymar is also fond of acting and has acted in a few Portuguese, Spanish and English films and TV series such as a cameo in the Hollywood film XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017) and played the role of Monje Jao in Money Heist (2019) streamed on Netflix.

  

• He often plays poker whenever he goes to any casino.

  

• Neymar has been the brand ambassador of various brands including Puma, Diesel, and Red Bull.

  

• He has been spotted drinking beer and whiskey at parties and other events.

  

• He likes playing basketball whenever he gets time away from football and has been spotted in various NBA matches.

• He is very popular on social media. As of March 2024, he has more than 220 million followers on Instagram, ^[16]Instagram – Neymar Jr 63 million followers on Twitter, ^[17]Twitter – Neymar Jr, 92 million followers on Facebook, ^[18]Facebook – Neymar Jr. and 4 million subscribers on YouTube. ^[19]YouTube – Neymar Jr

• He has one of the most craziest and most dedicated fan bases among the footballers. A Brazilian fan named Neymar as his nominee and wrote all of his assets to Neymar. The fan said that he empathised with the footballer for their similar personal life. ^[20]The Most Economic Times