Neymar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Nilmar.

Neymar

Neymar at a Brazil press conference during the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Personal information

Full name

Neymar da Silva Santos Jnior[1]

Date of birth

5 February 1992 (age 22)[1]

Place of birth

Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil[1]

Height

1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]

Playing position

Forward / Winger

Club information

Current team

Barcelona

Number

11

Youth career

19992003

Portuguesa Santista

20032009

Santos

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

20092013

Santos

103

(54)

2013

Barcelona

35

(18)

National team

2009

Brazil U17

(1)

2011

Brazil U20

(9)

2012

Brazil U23

(4)

2010

Brazil

58

(40)

Honours[show]

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league
only and correct as of 1 November 2014.

Appearances (Goals).
National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2014

Neymar da Silva Santos Jnior (Portuguese pronunciation: ej

d
i
; born 5
February 1992), commonly known as Neymar or Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian
professional footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and is the captain for theBrazil
national team. He plays as a forward or winger.
At the age of 19, Neymar won the 2011 South American Footballer of the Year award, after coming
third in 2010.[3] He followed this up by winning it again in 2012. In 2011 Neymar received nominations
for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, where he came 10th, and the FIFA Pusks Award for Goal of the Year,
which he won.[4] He is known for his acceleration, dribbling skills, finishing and ability with both feet.
His playing style has earned him critical acclaim, with fans, media and former players drawing
comparison to former Brazil forward Pel, who has called Neymar "an excellent player",
while Ronaldinho has stated "he will be the best in the world".[5][6][7]
Neymar joined Santos in 2003 and, after rising through the ranks, was promoted to their first team
squad. He made his debut for Santos in 2009 and was voted the Best Young Player of the 2009
Campeonato Paulista. Further awards followed, with Neymar being voted best player as Santos won
the 2010 Campeonato Paulista, and also being top scorer in the 2010 Copa do Brasil with 11 goals.
He finished the 2010 season with 42 goals in 60 games, as his club achieved the Double. Neymar
was again voted best player of the year in 2011 as Santos retained the state title and also won
the 2011 Copa Libertadores in which Neymar scored six goals in 13 appearances. He also played a
key role in securing a Continental Double, Santos' first since 1963. Neymar received the Bronze Ball
in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, with Santos reaching the final, where they were defeated 40
by Barcelona.[8]
Neymar has represented Brazil at Under-17, Under-20 and senior levels. On 10 August 2010, at the
age of 18, he made his debut for the Seleo in a friendly match against the United States; he
scored from a header in the 28th minute, contributing to Brazil's 20 win. Neymar was the top scorer
of the 2011 South American Youth Championship with nine goals, including two in the final, in the 6

0 win against Uruguay, helping Brazil to win their eleventh title in the competition. Neymar was
selected as part of Luiz Felipe Scolari's Brazil squad for the 2013 Confederations Cup on home soil.
For the tournament he was assigned the iconic number 10shirt. On 30 June, Neymar scored Brazil's
second goal in the 30 final win over Spain. Neymar's performances saw him awarded thegolden
ball for the best player of the tournament.[9] At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Neymar scored four goals
before he fractured a vertebra in his spine in the quarter-finals and missed the rest of the
tournament. He received the Bronze Boot as the tournament's third top goalscorer, and was named
in the World Cup All Star XI.
With 40 goals in 58 matches for Brazil, Neymar is the fifth highest goalscorer for his national
team.[10] In 2012 and 2013, SportsPronamed him the most marketable athlete in the world.[11] In
December 2013 he was ranked by The Guardian as the sixth best player in the world.[12]
Contents
[hide]

1 Early life
2 Club career
o 2.1 Santos
2.1.1 Youth
2.1.2 2009 season
2.1.3 2010 season
2.1.4 2011 season
2.1.5 2012 season
2.1.6 2013 season
o 2.2 Barcelona
2.2.1 Transfer investigation
2.2.2 201314 season
2.2.3 201415 season
3 International career
o 3.1 2011 Copa Amrica
o 3.2 2012 Summer Olympics and first hat-trick
o 3.3 2013 Confederations Cup
o 3.4 2014 World Cup
4 Style of play
5 Outside football
o 5.1 Personal life
o 5.2 Wealth
o 5.3 Sponsorships
o 5.4 Media
o 5.5 Music
6 Career statistics
o 6.1 Club
o 6.2 International
6.2.1 International goals
7 Honours
o 7.1 Club
o 7.2 National team
8 References
9 External links

Early life
Neymar da Silva Santos Jnior was born in Mogi das Cruzes, So Paulo, to Neymar da Silva, Sr.
and Nadine Santos. 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.[13] 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."[14] Growing up, Neymar combined his love of futsal with street football.[15]
In 2003, Neymar moved with his family to So Vicente, where he began playing for youth
side Portuguesa Santista.[16] Then, later in 2003, they moved to Santos, where Neymar joined Santos
FC.[17] 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 a full
professional contract, getting upgraded to the Santos first team and even receiving sponsorships.[18]

Club career
Santos
Youth
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, Pel and Robinho in starting out his career at Peixe (the football club's
nickname).[19] While in the youth academy, Neymar met Paulo Henrique Ganso, becoming good
friends in the process. He has one sister that did not play football. 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.[20]
2009 season
Neymar made his professional debut on 7 March 2009, despite being only 17 years old; he was
brought on for the last thirty minutes, in a 21 win against Oeste.[15] The following week he scored his
first goal for Santos against Mogi Mirim. One month later, on 11 April, Neymar scored the decisive
goal in a 21 win against Palmeiras in the 2009 Campeonato Paulista semi-final first leg.[21] In the
final, however, Santos suffered a 42 aggregate defeat to the Corinthians.[22] In his first season,
Neymar racked up 14 goals in 48 games.[15]
2010 season
Neymar continued his ascendancy in 2010, and, on 15 April 2010, he scored five goals for Santos in
an 81 rout of Guarani in the qualifying stages of the Brazilian Cup.[23]Following the 2010
Campeonato Paulista in which Neymar scored 14 goals in 19 games,[19] the club were crowned
champions after a 55 aggregate win over Santo Andr in the finals.[24] Neymar was subsequently
given the award for the best player in the competition.[25] Neymar's performances for Santos have
drawn comparisons to other Brazilians, including Robinho and Brazilian legend Pel.[26]
In 2010, Santos rejected a 12 million bid for him from English Premier League team West Ham
United,[27] and later an offer from another English club Chelsea, reported to be in the region of
20 million.[28] Despite Santos unwillingness to sell and Neymar himself insisting "I'm focused only on
Santos",[29] hi ge , W g er Ribeir , i dic ed h Ney r c reer
el e here,
i g "He
wants to become the best player in the world. The chances of him doing that while playing in Brazil
are zero."[28] Although one year later Neymar admitted, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, that
he had been happy with Chelsea's interest in him as it was a "dream" of his "to play in Europe",
whilst also stating that at the time it had been the right decision to stay in Brazil.[30]

On 30 November 2010, Santos sold a 5% share of future transfer fees that he would receive to an
investment group, Terceira Estrela Investimentos S.A. (TEISA), for R$3,549,900
(1.5 million).[31] The previous year, his family had sold a 40% stake in Neymar's sporting rights to
the DIS Esporte group who had been a long-term strategic partner of Santos' football club.[32]
Despite his first two seasons being highly successful, having ended the 2010 season with an
impressive 42 goals in 60 games, problems had been identified, namely Neymar's apparent taste for
diving when tackled, rather than attempting to continue his run, and his attitude. The latter came to
the forefront during a match with Goianiense, on 15 September 2010, when the Santos'
manager, Dorival Jnior, appointed another player to take the penalty awarded for a foul on Neymar.
His decision was based on the fact that Neymar had missed a crucial penalty during the Copa do
Brasil final of that year, even if Santos went on to win. Reacting to this, Neymar turned his back on
his manager, had to be calmed down by a linesman and argued with his captain, Edu Dracena. The
fallout from this event was that Dorival Junior wished to have Neymar suspended for two weeks, but
the board sided with the player and promptly sacked the manager. Despite Neymar's apologies over
the incident, some doubts still remain about his attitude.[15] In December 2010, aged just 18, Neymar
came third for the 2010 South American Footballer of the Year, behind Andrs
D'Alessandro and Juan Sebastin Vern.[33]
2011 season

Neymar playing for Santos againstFC Barcelona in the final of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup.

Neymar scored six goals during Santos run to the 2011 Copa Libertadores Finals, tying him for third
top goalscorer,[34] including the clinching goal of Santos' 43 aggregate win over Cerro Porteo in the
semifinals.[35] In the two-legged final, Santos faced Uruguayan sidePearol and drew the first leg 00
in Montevideo.[36] At home in the second leg, Neymar opened the scoring in the 46th minute as
Santos held on for a 21 win and Neymar won Man of the Match honours.[37][38] The win brought
Santos their first Copa Libertadores triumph since 1963, when Brazilian legend Pel was playing for
the club.[39][40]
In September 2011, Santos president Luis Ribeiro threatened to report Real
Madrid to FIFA following reports that they had attempted to sign Neymar to a pre-contract
agreement and denied that such an agreement was in place.[41] On 9 November 2011, Neymar and
Santos agreed to a contract extension that would see the player stay with the club until after
the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The deal reportedly increased Neymar's wages by 50%, to the levels
that top European clubs would be paying him.[42] On 14 December 2011, Neymar scored the opening
goal for Santos as they defeated Kashiwa Reysol 31 in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World
Cup at the Toyota Stadium inToyota, Japan, but failed to score against Barcelona in the final on 18
December 2011, where Santos were defeated 40, finishing as runners up in the competition.[43] He
won the 2011 FIFA Pusks Award for scoring a sensational solo goal in the Brasileiro Srie
Aagainst Flamengo, in a 54 loss. On 31 December 2011, he won the 2011 South American

Footballer of the Year award for the first time, by a record margin, following in the footsteps of Diego
Maradona, Romrio, Pel and Zico.[44]
2012 season
On 5 February 2012, when he turned 20, he scored his 100th goal as a professional football player,
against Palmeiras in the Campeonato Paulista.[45][46] On 25 February 2012, Neymar scored two goals,
one of whom from 25-yards and assisted with two, to help his side to a 61 win over Ponte
Preta.[47] On 7 March 2012, Neymar netted a hat-trick as Santos saw off Brazilian
rivals Internacional 31 in the Copa Libertadores Group stage match.[48] On 29 March, he scored a
brace against Guaratinguet in a 50 victory.[49] In the fixture against So Paulo on 29 April 2012,
Neymar scored a hat-trick with the match ending 31.[50] Thereafter, he went on to score twice in
the 1st[51] and 2nd legs[52] in the2012 Campeonato Paulista Finals against Guarani, which ended 72
on aggregate. Neymar finished the 2012 Campeonato Paulista with 20 goals and was voted the Best
player and Best Forward, and Santos were crowned champions. He was joint top scorer in the Copa
Libertadores with 8 goals, after Santos were beaten over two legs by eventual
champions Corinthians in the semi-finals.
On 25 August 2012, he scored a brace in the 21 away win at Palmeiras.[53] On 3 November 2012, in
the Brasileiro Srie A away fixture at Cruzeiro, Neymar scored a hat-trick and assisted Felipe
Anderson's goal, to help his side to a 40 win.[54] Neymar finished off the 2012 season in style, first
setting-up Victor Andrade's equaliser, then scoring twice, to give Santos a 31 home win
over Palmeiras on 1 December 2012.[55] Neymar was voted the Best player of the 2012 Recopa
Sudamericana, Neymar scoring in the second leg to win the title 20 on aggregate. He finished the
2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Srie A with 14 goals and being voted the Best forward. Neymar
finished the 2012 season, being award the Golden Ball, Arthur Friedenreich Award and Armando
Nogueira Trophy. He was one of three finalists in the 2012 FIFA Pusks Award and finished
runners-up behindMiroslav Stoch. He won the 2012 South American Footballer of the Year, retaining
his award and winning it ahead of the likes of Ronaldinho. Reports emerged in 2011 that Santos
reached an agreement with Barcelona to sign him at a later stage. However, Neymar rejected this in
an interview, saying that he had "no agreement with Barcelona or anyone else".[56]
2013 season
Neymar started the 2013 Campeonato Paulista scoring twice in the first match, which ended a 31
win over So Bernardo on 19 January 2013.[57] Four days later on 23 January 2013, Neymar scored
again against Botafogo in a 30 win.[58] On 3 February 2013, in the Paulista fixture against So
Paulo, where Santos won 31, with Neymar scoring and making two assists.[59] 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."[60]
Neymar scored all four goals, had another disallowed and hit the post as Santos beat Unio
Barbarense 40 in the Paulista on 13 April.[61] On 25 April 2013, his agent and father revealed that
Neymar intended to leave for Europe before the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[62] Ahead of his last match for
Santos, on 26 May against Flamengo, Neymar was in tears during the national anthem.[63]