Neymar: Early Life, Clubs, Family, Net Worth, Career & Stats

Neymar is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Brazil national team. An exceptional goal scorer and playmaker, he is regarded as one of the best players in the world and one of the best Brazilian players of all time.

Neymar has scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs, making him one of the few players to achieve this feat. He has a huge fan following for his skills on the pitch and lifestyle off the pitch, he is also a samba master and is never shy of breaking into a samba dance as a celebration after scoring goals.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

EARLY LIFE

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, popularly known in the world as Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian footballer who was born in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo on February 5, 1992, and plays as an extreme or second striker. He is the son of Nadine, his mother, and Neymar Santos who is his father, from whom he inherited his name and passion for football since in the past he was also a footballer. From a very young age, Neymar showed his love for futsal and street football and it was in these sports that he began to show all his football talent.

Also Read: Al Hilal: A Quick Roundup of The Summer Transfer Window 2023

CLUB CAREER

In 2003: 11-year-old Neymar was signed by Santos one of the most famous and important teams in his country where famous players such as Bruno Coutinho, pelé, martins, clodoaldo Tavares de Santana, Diego Walsh, Elano, and Alex played.

In 2005: Spanish league giants Real Madrid was interested in Neymar’s talents but the transfer could not occur as Santos paid more than one million reais to keep him in their squad.

March 7, 2009: Neymar debuted as a professional at Santos at the age of 17. His first goal in the team would be a week after his debut against Mogi Mirim and on April 11 of that same year, he would score a decisive goal in the first leg semifinal against Palmeiras, which his team won 2-1. He scored 14 goals in 48 games that season.

In the following seasons, Neymar continued to impress on the field, winning several individual awards, including the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012. He also helped Santos win the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club competition in South America, in 2011. In his five-year career with Santos, Neymar scored 70 goals and assisted 35 times in 134 appearances.

In 2013: Neymar again expressed the desire to play in a European club like Chelsea, Barcelona, or Real Madrid, so that year he did not renew his contract with Santos, and on May 26, the signing of the Brazilian player to Barcelona FC for 5 seasons and a value of approximately 57 million euros became official.

With Barcelona he became one of the historical sensations after winning the three most important competitions in the world at the club level, the Copa Libertadores, the UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

On August 3, 2017: After much speculation, the transfer of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain Football Club became official, for a figure that reached 222 million euros.

2023: The 31-year-old has signed a multi-year contract with Al-Hilal, a deal that according to L’Equipe will pay the Brazilian a wild $175 million. Neymar joins a team with Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. That’s the proper star quotient for many teams in the world.

INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Neymar was called for the first time to the absolute Brazilian national team on July 26, 2010, to face a friendly match against the United States. His debut was on August 10 of that year when he played the game wearing the shirt number 11. In that game, Neymar would score a goal that contributed to the victory of Brazil 2-0. His first official competition in the senior team was in the 2011 American Cup played in Argentina, a competition in which he managed to score two goals against Ecuador.

Unfortunately, Brazil would be eliminated by Paraguay in the quarterfinal phase. In the year 2015, the Brazilian coach Dunga, called Neymar to dispute the 2015 Copa America of Chile in which he converted a goal and an assist in two games played as he would be sanctioned for an incident that occurred in the match against the Colombian national team. Neymar played in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he managed to score 6 goals and be one of the most outstanding players in his team.

In addition, on October 11, 2017, the player was part of the team that ratified his qualification to the 2018 World Cup with the Brazilian team. In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Neymar’s Brazil was ruled out of the group stage losing to Croatia on penalties. Reportedly Brazil’s elimination from the FIFA World Cup 2022 has “psychologically destroyed” Neymar.

RECORDS

• Neymar is the joint-highest scorer in the history of the Brazilian national team, with 77 goals in 124 appearances.
• He is the all-time top scorer for Santos FC in the Copa Libertadores, with 17 goals.
• In the 2011-12 season, Neymar became the first player to win the South American Footballer of the Year award two years in a row since Diego Maradona in 1986 and 1987.
• Neymar is the highest-scoring Brazilian in the history of the UEFA Champions League, with 42 goals.
• He is the first player in history to score in both legs of the Copa del Rey, Champions League, and La Liga in a single season.
• Neymar holds the record for the most expensive transfer in football history when he was signed by Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million in 2017.
• In 2019, Neymar became the youngest player in Brazilian history to reach 100 caps for the national team, at the age of 27.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• Paulista Championship: 2010, 2011 and 2012 with Santos F.C.
• Copa do Brasil: 2010.
• Copa Libertadores: 2011.
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2012.
• Spain Supercup: 2013, 2016.
• Spanish League: 2015, 2016.
• Copa del Rey: 2015, 2016, 2017.
• UEFA Champion League: 2015.
• Europe Super Cup: 2015.
• Club World Cup: 2015.
• South America U-20 Championship: 2011.
• Silver Medal in Olympics: 2012.
• Confederations Cup: 2013.
• Golden Medal in the Olympics: 2016.

PERSONAL LIFE

Neymar shares a son named Davi Lucca, born on 13 August 2011 with his ex-girlfriend Carolina Dantas, Neymar is a Christian and follows the Pentecostal branch of the religion. Neymar has spoken about his faith saying: “Life only makes sense when our highest ideal is to serve Christ!,

Additionally, he has sometimes worn a headband with the words “100% Jesus”.Each year, Neymar organizes a charity match with fellow Brazilian footballer Nenê in Nenê’s hometown of Jundiaí, with the purpose of raising food for needy families. In addition to his native Portuguese, Neymar also speaks Spanish.

NET WORTH

As of August 2023, Neymar is estimated to have a net worth of around $250 million (£196m) as per figures from Celebrity Net Worth.

FAMILY

Neymar’s family comprises his Parents – Nadine Goncalves (Mother), Neymar Santos Sr (Father), Sister (Rafaella Santos), and Son (Davi Lucca da Silva Santos). His sisters Rafaella and Neymar are very close to each other. Not only do they make pair tattoos but also have tattoos of each other in honor of their bond (Neymar has a tattoo of Rafaella’s face and she got one of his eyes).

Neymar’s parents struggled a lot due to their economic background but always provided for their children to pursue their dreams. Their parents would save everything they could to buy footballs and boots for Neymar as they saw he had great potential in the sport.

PARTNER

Neymar is currently dating influencer and model Bruna Biancardi, and the two are expecting their first child together. The couple, who are both from Brazil, reportedly began dating in 2021. They made their relationship public in January 2022 by sharing the news of their engagement on Instagram.

Neymar Jr Injury

Neymar Jr underwent a successful knee surgery to repair anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries in his left knee which he sustained in Brazil’s World Cup qualifying loss back in October 2023. But despite the successful operation, Neymar was expected to be out until the end of this season. But Brazil hopes the 32-year-old forward will be fit and available for the Copa America in the summer.

HOUSES

1. This 5-story Parisian Mansion is nestled in the western suburb of Bougival, just 10 miles away from the center of Paris. The mansion is constructed on top of a hill and boasts splendid panoramic vistas of the city and mountains. He has been renting it out since 2017 for a whopping £12,800 a month.
2. The Rio De Janeiro mansion that the maestro actually owns; he bought it in 2017 for a whopping $ 10 million. Constructed on over 3 acres of land, the property can be found in the super exclusive gated estate called Portobello in the resort of Mangaratiba. It’s roughly 60 miles down from the coast.
3. When Neymar is not on the field, he is often spotted spending quality time with Tinseltown friends like Lewis Hamilton, Justin Bieber, and Michael Jordan at his palatial $1 million mansion in Beverly Hills. The ex-PSG star reportedly forks out £ 7,000 a night every time he decides to party at this vacation mansion.