Neymar

Neymar Biography

Sebastian Henke

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, referred to simply as Neymar or Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian footballer who plays anywhere across the frontline, but is mainly used as a striker.
He is known for his acceleration, dribbling and composed finishing. Neymar has already picked up the Best South American Player of the Year award twice. Pele referred to him as "an excellent player".

Early Life

Neymar was born on the 5th of February 1992 in Mogi des Cruzes, Brazil to Neymar da Silva Sr. and Nadine Santos. His father, who is also a former professional footballer, would later become one of his advisors.
He describes his father as his role model and credits a lot of his success to him. Like many before him in Brazil, Neymar's talents were visible from a young age. His love for futsual and street football helped him develop his unique playing style, which he is known for today.
At the age of 14, he completed a training camp at Real Madrid, which aroused the interest of the Spaniards immediately.
It was only by payment of one million Brazilian reais to the player, which is roughly $450,000, that Neymar remained in Brazil.

FC Santos

In 2003, at the age of eleven, Neymar started playing for Santos and was quickly considered a "jewel" by the various coaches at the club.
In 2009, he managed the jump into the first team and became a regular in both the State of São Paulo Championship and in the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol.
Since then, he has been considered a great talent and designated as the successor of Robinho.
In the Copa Libertadores 2011, he scored 6 goals in 13 games and played a big part in the title win in the main competition of the South American football club. His outstanding performances in all competitions enabled him to be voted South America's Footballer of the Year in 2011 and 2012.

FC Barcelona

Neymar signed for Spanish giant FC Barcelona for the 2013/14 season. He signed a contract for five seasons until the 30th of June 2018 and cost Barcelona $75 million, a transfer fee which was the eighth highest at the time! His release clause is believed to be in the region of $250 million.

National Team

With the Brazil's U-17, Neymar took part in the World Cup 2009. He played in all three games from the start and scored a goal, but they were knocked out the competition in the first round.
After the disappointing 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Coach Mano Menezes nominated talented young players, including Neymar, and built them into a good squad.
In the first friendly match after the World Cup, against the United States, Menezes put Neymar in to the starting lineup, and he scored the first goal in the 2-0 victory.
On the 27th of March 2011, he scored both goals in a friendly match against Scotland, which Brazil won 2:0.
In early 2011, Neymar took part at the U-20 South American Championship in Peru. With nine goals, he was the top scorer and helped his side claim the title.
In 2012, he was part of the Olympic Team at the Olympic Games in London in which Brazil looked to win the gold medal for the first time. However Brazil was beaten 1:2 by the Mexican team and had to settle for a Silver Medal.
In 2013, he was part of the Brazil team that took part in the Confederations Cup. He scored the first goal in the opening game against Japan after only 3 minutes.
With three more goals in the end, he finished 3rd in the scoring charts, helping Brazil to take the cup. He played a big role for the team, which saw him elected player of the tournament.