Country: Brazil
Club: Paris-Saint Germain
Position: Forward
Age: 30
He is recognized as one of the best players in the world, a prolific goalscorer and famous playmaker. Neymar is one of just three players to have scored at least 100 goals for three separate clubs.
In 2011 and 2012, Neymar won the South American Footballer of the Year award twice. He then moved to Europe to play with Barcelona. Against Palmeiras in the Campeonato Paulista on February 5, 2012, when he was 20 years old, Neymar scored his 100th goal as a professional football player.
The following year, in 2015–16, he completed a domestic double. Neymar moved to PSG in 2017 for a transfer fee of €222 million, making him the most expensive player ever. Neymar was driven to be a talisman at the club level.
He received numerous awards in France, including four league championships and the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award in his first campaign. Notably, he guided PSG to its first-ever Champions League Final and assisted the team in winning the domestic quadruple in the 2019–20 season.
Neymar is Brazil’s second-highest goal scorer, behind Pelé, with 74 goals in 120 games since making his debut at the age of 18. He had a significant role in Brazil’s win at the 2011 South American Youth Championship, when he finished as the tournament’s top scorer. He also won a silver medal for Brazil in the men’s football competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and the Golden Ball the following year. After being sidelined by injuries and a suspension from the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2015 Copa América, respectively, he captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in men’s football at the 2016 Summer Olympics. After giving up the captaincy, he participated in the 2018 World Cup, and despite being injured and missing the 2019 Copa América, he helped Brazil finish second at the 2021 competition.
Neymar signed a deal with Paris Saint-Germain in France that would keep him there through 2022. Javier Pastore presented him with the number 10 shirt as a “welcome gift.”
Neymar won his 50th international cap against Croatia on June 12 in So Paulo, during the tournament’s opening game.
Style of play
Neymar, who has been dubbed “a true phenomenon,” typically plays as a central striker, second striker, winger, or occasionally as an attacking midfielder. He is PSG’s sixth-highest goalscorer and seventh-highest assist-giver all-time, demonstrating both his prolific scoring and playmaking abilities. Neymar frequently plays as a left sided forward for both club and country in the team’s 4-3-3 formation, drifting infield.
Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho, who was formerly thought to be a very promising talent, had also predicted that Neymar would one day be the finest player in the world.
