Neymar Jr. (Photo by Paolo Aguilar-Pool/Getty Images)
Neymar began playing football as a junior player at Sao Vicente under the guidance of his father, with Neymar’s father being mentor throughout his career. After playing street and under five-a-side football, Neymar joined Portuguesa Santista in Sao Vicente.
And in 2003 he arrived in Santos with his family. There, Neymar was already being talked about as an impressive player since he joined Santos FC’s youth academy (the same club for which Brazilian football legend Pele starred for most of his domestic career). At the age of 14, he had a successful trial with Spain’s Real Madrid.
The 5-foot-9-inch (1.75-meter) tall Neymar — a forward — is the perfect player who knows how to dominate the field with his physical control and speed. He made his first-team debut with Santos in 2009. While playing with Santos, he averaged a goal every other match and helped the team win the Libertadores Cup (the most prestigious South American club competition) in 2011. Neymar has many individual honors with Santos. Including the title of South American Footballer of the Year in 2011 and 2012.
In June 2013, Neymar signed a five-year contract with FC Barcelona, the most expensive transfer in football history. Two years later he helped Barcelona win the “treble” of the La Liga championship, the Copa del Rey title, and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League title.
Neymar played a key role in Barcelona’s success from 2013 to 2017, scoring a total of 105 goals in 186 games for the club in all competitions, equaling teammate Lionel Messi.
Wanted to step out of the shadows, one of the greatest players in football history. As a result, in August 2017 he moved to French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for a then-record fee.
€222 million ($263 million) transfer fee. The move made Neymar the world’s highest-paid player at the time, with an annual salary of €45 million ($53 million). PSG also signed Kylian Mbappé in August 2017. Neymar appeared in just 30 matches during his first season with PSG, scoring 28 goals for the club before fracturing a bone in his right foot, although PSG won the 2017–18 season.
won the Ligue 1 title. Season as well in 2018-19 and 2019-20. In 2021—the same year that Messi signed with PSG—Neymar agreed to a contract extension that kept him at PSG until 2025. Neymar, Mbappé, and Messi form one of the strongest front lines in all of soccer.
