Neymar professional footballer for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Brazil national team
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior born 5 February 1992, commonly known as Neymar or Neymar Jr. is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Brazil national team.Neymar came into prominence at an early age at Santos, where he made his professional debut aged 17. He helped the club win two successive Campeonato Paulista championships, a Copa do Brasil, and the 2011 Copa Libertadores, Santos' first continental title since 1963.
Neymar was twice named the South American Footballer of the Year, in 2011 and 2012, before relocating to Europe to join Barcelona. As part of Barça's attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, he won the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League in the 2014–15 season, followed the next year by the domestic double. He came third for the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2015.
With 51 goals in 76 matches for Brazil since debuting at age 18, Neymar is the fourth-highest goalscorer for his national team. He was a key player in Brazil's victories at the 2011 South American Youth Championship, which he finished as the leading goalscorer, and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. His participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2015 Copa América was cut short by injury and a suspension respectively, but the next year he captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in men's football at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Known for his dribbling, finishing, and ability with both feet, Neymar has earned comparisons to former Brazil and Santos forward Pelé. Off the pitch, he ranks among the world's most prominent sportsmen; SportsPro named him the most marketable athlete in the world in 2012 and 2013, and ESPN cited him as the world's fourth-most famous athlete in 2016.
Neymar primarily plays as either a central striker, second striker, winger or occasionally as an attacking midfielder, and has been described as "a true phenomenon". He often plays as a left sided forward for both club and country in the team's 4–3–3 formation, drifting infield, due to his energetic pace and playmaking skills; this position allows him to shoot with his stronger foot, or create chances for team-mates. Neymar's dribbling skills, tricks and playmaking ability are reminiscent of compatriot Ronaldinho.
His common traits are his creativity, passing, finishing, dribbling, feints and technique, being described as both "electric" and "explosive". Although naturally right-footed, he is capable of scoring with both feet, as well as with his head, and is an accurate free-kick and penalty taker. He commented on his attributes saying: "I'm always trying to perfect everything – dribbling, shooting, headers and control. You can always improve". Neymar stated that he has been inspired by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and Wayne Rooney.
Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho had also tipped Neymar on becoming the best player in the world: “Neymar is young though, and I can't explain how special he will become. In the next two or three seasons he will become the best player." Another Brazilian star, retired World Cup winner Ronaldo also believes that Neymar can become the best in the world: "Logically, Messi is better right now but Neymar is a great talent who will show the world that he will be number one". Former Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano has also praised Neymar, stating: "I like Neymar a lot".
Many of his individual actions result in a goal and often it's a move that only seems to be happening with him on the pitch." FC Barcelona star Xavi also stated that Neymar "is a great player, has a very good attitude, and will go on to be the best player in the world."However, Neymar also has been known and criticised for his diving when tackled. For which Pelé has told: "He is a player with a body that can't take a lot of hits. A lot of times he will fall because he can't do anything else, but he was overdoing it." He continued: "Even when he is fouled, he can't make a spectacle out of it".
Neymar began playing football at an early age and he was soon spotted by Santos FC who offered him a contract in 2003, where he was inducted into their youth academy, which has, in the past, produced Brazilian internationals like Coutinho, Clodoaldo, Diego, Elano and Alex. He also joined the likes of Pepe, Pelé and Robinho in starting out his career at the club, nicknamed Peixe. While in the youth academy, Neymar met Paulo Henrique Ganso, becoming good friends in the process. Aged 14, Neymar travelled to Spain to join the Real Madrid youth team, at the time when Real had stars like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos and Robinho.
Neymar scored six goals during Santos run to the 2011 Copa Libertadores Finals, tying him for third top goalscorer,including the clinching goal of Santos' 4–3 aggregate win over Cerro Porteño in the semifinals. In the two-legged final, Santos faced Uruguayan side Peñarol and drew the first leg 0–0 in Montevideo. At home in the second leg, Neymar opened the scoring in the 46th minute as Santos held on for a 2–1 win and Neymar won Man of the Match honours. The win brought Santos their first Copa Libertadores triumph since 1963, when Brazilian legend Pelé was playing for the club.
Neymar started the 2013 Campeonato Paulista scoring twice in the first match, which ended a 3–1 win over São Bernardo on 19 January 2013. Four days later on 23 January 2013, Neymar scored again against Botafogo in a 3–0 win.On 3 February 2013, in the Paulista fixture against São Paulo, where Santos won 3–1, with Neymar scoring and making two assists. on 18 March 2013, Neymar told that he had a "dream of playing in Europe, for a big club like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea." But he went on to say, "There's no point in speculating when I'll leave Santos. I'll leave when I want to".
Neymar scored all four goals, had another disallowed and hit the post as Santos beat União Barbarense 4–0 in the Paulista on 13 April. On 25 April 2013, his agent and father revealed that Neymar intended to leave for Europe before the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Ahead of his last match for Santos, on 26 May against Flamengo, Neymar was in tears during the national anthem.
On 24 May 2013, Santos announced that they had received two offers for Neymar. The following day, Neymar announced he would sign with Barcelona on 27 May 2013 and join the team after playing in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Neither Neymar nor the clubs released details on the transfer fee or personal terms, save to say he signed a five-year deal. On 3 June 2013, Neymar was unveiled by Barcelona after passing medical tests and signing a contract that would keep him at the club through June 2018.
Neymar was presented at the Camp Nou in front of 56,500 fans, a record turnout for a Brazilian player. Club vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu initially said Neymar's transfer fee was €57.1 million and his release clause set at €190 million. Barcelona's doctor suggested he might need to gain weight to be able to cope physically in Spanish football.
On 13 September 2014, after appearing as a substitute, Neymar scored his first two goals of the 2014–15 season, helping Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2–0. On 27 September, he scored a hat-trick against Granada in a 6–0 win and went on to score in his next three La Liga matches, including the opening goal in a 1–3 loss to Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
On 24 January 2015, Neymar scored twice and assisted two more goals in a 6–0 win at Elche. On 28 January, he scored his 20th goal of the season in a 3–2 Copa del Rey quarter-final win over Atlético Madrid. On 4 March, Neymar scored twice in Barcelona's 3–1 Copa del Rey semi-final win over Villarreal to qualify the club for its 37th Spanish Cup final. On 21 April, Neymar took his tally to 30 goals for the season by scoring twice in Barcelona's 2–0 Champions League quarter-final win over Paris Saint-Germain to qualify the club for the semi-finals.
In May, the closing month of the season, Neymar scored the last goal in a 3–0 win against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. A week later, he scored both the team's goals in a 3–2 second leg defeat at the Allianz Arena to ensure Barça would qualify for the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final. He also opened the scoring with a header in a 2–0 league win versus Real Sociedad, a result which gave Barça a four-point lead over Real Madrid with only two matches remaining.
After securing the league title on 17 May with a 1–0 win over Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón, Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 3–1 at Camp Nou in the 2015 Copa del Rey Final on 30 May, with Neymar scoring the second goal for Barça. With Barcelona's victory likely, he performed tricks with the ball in the final stages of the game, which was deemed unsporting by opponent Andoni Iraola. Barcelona manager Luis Enrique claimed that it had to be understood that such behaviour was acceptable in Brazil, while Neymar himself did not apologise.
On 6 June 2015, Neymar scored the third goal for Barça in the 3–1 Champions League Final defeat of Italian champions Juventus at Berlin's Olympiastadion, ensuring the club won its fifth European Cup.This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup twice. On a personal note, he became the eighth player in football's history to win both the Copa Libertadores and the UEFA Champions League, and the first player to score in final victories in both competitions.
Neymar ended the season with 39 goals in all competitions and 10 in the Champions League, making him joint highest scorer with Cristiano Ronaldo and teammate Lionel Messi in the latter competition. He was the first player apart from those two to top the competition's scoring list, since compatriot Kaká in 2006–07. Barcelona's attacking trio of Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar, dubbed "MSN", ended with 122 goals, the most in a season for an attacking trio in Spanish football history Due to having the mumps, Neymar was expected to miss the 2015 UEFA Super Cup and the 2015 Supercopa de España. On 17 October, Neymar scored four goals in Barcelona's 5–2 home win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, taking his total to eight goals for the season. On 21 November, Neymar scored one and provided a back heel assist for Andrés Iniesta in Barcelona's 4–0 away win against Real Madrid. He scored twice in a 4–0 home win over Real Sociedad on 28 November, taking his La Liga total to 14 goals in 12 games.
On 30 November, Neymar was shortlisted for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or alongside Messi and Ronaldo, and subsequently came third.On 22 May 2016, Neymar scored a late goal in Barcelona's 2–0 extra time win over Sevilla in the 2016 Copa del Rey Final at the Vicente Calderón, as the club celebrated winning the domestic double for the second consecutive season, following their treble victory from the previous season.
Following Neymar's performances for Brazil's under-17 team at the 2009 U-17 World Cup in which he scored a goal in the opening match against Japan, former Brazilian football players Pelé and Romário reportedly urged coach Dunga to take Neymar to the 2010 World Cup. Although the widespread opinion that Neymar deserved a place in Dunga's squad went as far as a 14,000 signature petition, and despite the huge pressure on Dunga to pick Neymar, he was omitted from both the squad of 23, and the stand-by list.Although Dunga described Neymar as "extremely talented", he claimed that he had not been tested sufficiently on the international level to earn a World Cup spot and he had failed to impress enough while on international duty.
The CBF had wanted Neymar to play at the Copa América Centenario and the Olympics in Rio during the summer of 2016, but after a request from Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, he was rested from the first tournament.In late June 2016, he was subsequently one of the three over-23 players to be included in Brazil's squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics on home soil, and was named the team's captain by the Olympic side's manager Rogério Micale.
In Brazil's quarter-final clash with Colombia on 13 August, Neymar scored Brazil's first goal of the match, from a direct free kick, and also set up his nation's second goal in an eventual 2–0 win. In Brazil's semi-final clash with Honduras on 18 August, Neymar scored twice, Brazil's first and last goals of the match, in a 6–0 win.In the final against Germany at the Maracanã in Rio on 20 August, Neymar opened the scoring with a free-kick after 27 minutes.
The game finished 1–1 after Max Meyer equalised in the second-half. Brazil beat Germany 5–4 on penalties, and Neymar scored the winning penalty to bring Brazil its first Olympic gold medal in men's football. Both during and prior to the tournament, he had been subjected to criticism over his conduct on and off the pitch, with several former Brazil players suggesting that he was not fit to captain the national team. Neymar subsequently renounced the captaincy following their Olympic victory.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior was born in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, to Neymar Santos, Sr. and Nadine da Silva. He inherited his name from his father, who is a former footballer and became his son's advisor as Neymar's talents began to grow. Neymar comments on his father's role "My father has been by my side since I was little. He takes care of things, my finances and my family." Growing up, Neymar combined his love of futsal with street football.
In 2003, Neymar moved with his family to São Vicente, where he began playing for youth side Portuguesa Santista. Then, later in 2003, they moved to Santos, where Neymar joined Santos FC. With the success of his youth career and added income, the family bought their first property, a house next to the Vila Belmiro. Their quality of family life improved, as at age 15, Neymar was earning 10,000 reais per month and at 16, 125,000 reais per month. At 17, he signed his first full professional contract, was upgraded to the Santos first team, and began signing his first sponsorship deals.
Neymar has a son, Davi Lucca, with former girlfriend Carolina Dantas. Neymar was quoted as saying "I cried when I learned that I would be his father. At first, I felt fear. Then joy. It is a new responsibility and I am now enjoying it. " He later described the birth of his baby boy as "2.8 kilograms of pure happiness" and also said "Mother and baby are in good condition just after childbirth". He has a very close sibling relationship with his sister Rafaella Beckran, and cemented this platonic closeness by tattooing her face on his arm, while Beckran tattooed her brothers eyes on her arm.
Neymar is a Christian.Neymar has spoken about his faith saying, "Life only makes sense when our highest ideal is to serve Christ!" Neymar reportedly also tithes (10%) his income to his church and has named Kaká as his religious role model. 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.
The Selecao coach has warned opponents that trying to contain the Barcelona superstar will only afford space to his international team-mates Having secured a berth at the 2018 World Cup, Brazil coach Tite has welcomed the attention Neymar receives from opponents, claiming it creates opportunities for other players to score.
The Selecao defeated Paraguay 3-0 in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, a result which, combined with Peru's 2-1 win over Uruguay, guaranteed the five-time champions a place at next year's finals in Russia.After missing a penalty, Neymar netted the second at Arena Corinthians, Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho having opened the scoring and Marcelo supplying a late settler.
Neymar not an example for children'Speaking to the media after the match, the coach, who was appointed to replace Dunga in June,highlighted the role Barcelona striker Neymar plays in freeing up space for team-mates."The collective empowers the individual," he said. "If the ball arrives to Neymar, they mark , but the other side is more exposed. Coutinho creates chances. Enter Fagner, enter Paulinho. We take Neymar to one side, let him be isolated and make room for another. If they mark two, somewhere there are going to be people free.
"We have to find these alternative areas."Brazil have struggled to live up to expectations on the big stage since their triumph at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea, going out in the quarter-finals in 2006 and 2010, before suffering the humiliation of a 7-1 defeat to eventual winners Germany in the semi-finals on home soil in 2014.Asked if this squad is capable of improving on the near misses suffered by their recent predecessors, Tite replied: "First, I understand your question, but I cannot make comparisons with previous situations.
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