Neymar

For other uses, see Neymar (disambiguation).

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is da Silva and the second or paternal family name is Santos. "Júnior" is a generational suffix used for someone whose name is the same as their father, like "Jr." in English.

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [nejˈmaʁ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ ˈsɐ̃tuz ˈʒuni.oʁ] ^ⓘ; born 5 February 1992), simply known as Neymar or Neymar Júnior (shortened to Neymar Jr), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Santos, which he captains, and the Brazil national team. Known for his dribbling, technical ability, playmaking, and finishing, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.^{[note 1]}

Neymar

Neymar training with Al-Hilal in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior[1]
Date of birth	(1992-02-05) 5 February 1992 (age 33)[1]
Place of birth	Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil[2]
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, left winger
Team information
Current team	Santos
Number	10
Youth career
1999–2003	Portuguesa Santista
2003–2009	Santos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2013	Santos	179	(107)
2013–2017	Barcelona	123	(68)
2017–2023	Paris Saint-Germain	112	(82)
2023–2025	Al-Hilal	3	(0)
2025–	Santos	15	(4)
International career‡
2009	Brazil U17	3	(1)
2011	Brazil U20	7	(9)
2012–2016	Brazil U23	14	(8)
2010–	Brazil	128	(79)
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Brazil South American U-20 Championship Winner 2011 Peru Summer Olympics 2012 London Team 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 2013 Brazil Copa América Runner-up 2021 Brazil
Signature
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 00:33, 28 July 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 04:10, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

Neymar made his professional debut with Santos in 2009 and was focal to their Copa Libertadores win in 2011. In 2013, in a controversial transfer, Barcelona signed him and he soon became part of a dominant attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez—known as MSN. In 2014–15, Neymar won the treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, finishing as the top goal scorer of both that season's Champions League and the Copa del Rey.^{[note 2]} In 2017, he left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain, becoming the most expensive player in history after his €222 million release clause was activated.^{[note 3]} Neymar won five Ligue 1 titles and guided PSG to their first-ever Champions League final in 2020, narrowly losing. Despite injuries causing limited game time with PSG, he became one of their all-time top goal scorers. He joined Saudi club Al-Hilal in 2023 before returning to Santos in January 2025.

At 18, Neymar debuted for Brazil and has since become the nation's second-most-capped player, only trailing Cafu. He is the nation's all-time top goal scorer, with 79 goals in 128 matches. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in men's football, Neymar helped Brazil reach the final, ultimately receiving the Olympic silver medal. In the following year, he won the FIFA Confederations Cup and received the Golden Ball. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he was named in the Dream Team and received the Bronze Boot. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in men's football. In the 2021 Copa América, he led Brazil to the final where they lost to Argentina and was jointly awarded Best Player. Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, he became Brazil's all-time top scorer in World Cup qualifiers, with 12 goals. In 2023, he surpassed Pelé's long-standing goalscoring record for Brazil and became the all-time assist leader in international football, with 59 assists.

During the Messi–Ronaldo rivalry, Neymar finished third for the Ballon d'Or in 2015 and 2017, also finishing third for the FIFA The Best Men's Player in 2017. He was named in both the FIFA FIFPro World11 and the UEFA Team of the Year twice. He has received the FIFA Puskás Award, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Player, the La Liga Best American Player, the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, and the Copa Libertadores Best Player. Internationally, he received the South American Footballer of the Year twice and was runner-up for the IFFHS's CONMEBOL The Best Man Player of the Decade (2011–2020) award, behind Messi.

Early life

Neymar was born in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, to Neymar Santos Sr. and Nadine da Silva and had a Christian upbringing.^[5][6] 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.^[7] 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."^[8] Growing up, Neymar combined his love of futsal with street football.^[9] Neymar said that futsal had a massive influence on him growing up, helping him develop his technique, speed of thought and ability to perform moves in tight spaces.^[10] He was inspired by Ronaldinho, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, and Wayne Rooney.^[11][12]

In 2003, Neymar moved with his family to São Vicente, where he began playing for youth side Portuguesa Santista.^[13] Then, later in 2003, they moved to Santos, where Neymar joined Santos.^[14] With the success of his youth career and added income, the family bought their first property, a house next to Vila Belmiro, Santos' home stadium. 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.^[15]

Club career

Santos

Youth

Neymar began playing football at an early age and he was soon spotted by Santos 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.^[16] While in the youth academy, Neymar met Paulo Henrique Ganso, becoming good friends in the process. Aged 14, Neymar travelled to Spain for tryouts with the Real Madrid youth team. He did not stay in Madrid, however, as his father decided at the time that he preferred the young prodigy to keep growing up while playing at Santos.^[17][18]

2009: Debut season

Neymar made his professional debut on 7 March 2009, one month after turning 17 years old. He was brought on for the last thirty minutes, in a 2–1 win against Oeste.^[9] 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 2–1 win against Palmeiras in the 2009 Campeonato Paulista semi-final first leg.^[19] In the final, however, Santos suffered a 4–2 aggregate defeat to Corinthians.^[20] In his first season, Neymar racked up 14 goals in 48 games.^[9]

2010: State league and Copa do Brasil titles

"The 18-year-old is a magnificent prospect. He is sleek and skilful, able to beat the defender on either side, capable of combining well, and full of tricks he can put to productive use in and around the penalty area."

—South American football journalist Tim Vickery on Neymar in 2010.^[21]

He continued his rapid development in 2010, and, on 15 April, he scored five goals for Santos in an 8–1 rout of Guarani in the qualifying stages of the Brazilian Cup.^[22] Following the 2010 Campeonato Paulista in which Neymar scored 14 goals in 19 games,^[16] including two in the second leg of the finals against Santo André, the club were crowned champions.^[23] Neymar was subsequently given the award for the best player in the competition,^[24] and his performances for the club drew comparisons to other Brazilians, including Robinho, Alexandre Pato, and Pelé.^[25]

In the 2010 summer transfer window, Santos rejected a £12 million bid for him from Premier League team West Ham United,^[26] and later an offer from Chelsea, reported to be in the region of £20 million.^[27] Despite the unwillingness of Santos to sell and Neymar himself stating: "I'm focused only on Santos",^[28] his agent, Wagner Ribeiro, indicated that Neymar's career was elsewhere, stating: "He wants to become the best player in the world. The chances of him doing that while playing in Brazil are zero."^[27] One year later Neymar said, 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", while also stating that at the time it had been the right decision to stay in Brazil.^[29]

On 5 May 2010, Neymar scored a goal in the 3–1 Copa do Brasil quarterfinals victory over Atletico-MG.^[30] He missed the first leg of the semifinals against Grêmio due to a suspension but returned for the second leg and Santos advanced 6-5 on aggregate. In the first leg of the finals against Vitória, Neymar scored a goal and missed a penalty in a 2–0 win for Peixe.^[31] Although Santos lost the return leg 2–1, the 3–2 aggregate score was enough for Santos to lift the Copa do Brasil for the first time in its history, and Neymar finished as the tournament's top scorer with 11 goals.^[32]

Neymar with former Portuguese footballer Eusébio in 2010

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).^[33] 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 the club.^[34]

In the league, Neymar shined, scoring 17 goals, including a hat trick against Goiás (4–1) and a brace against Atletico-MG (2–2). He finished second in the top scoring charts, behind Gremio's Jonas. Neymar concluded the season with 42 goals in 60 matches in all competitions. Despite these impressive numbers, 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 league match against Atlético Goianiense, on 15 September 2010, when Santos' manager, Dorival Júnior, appointed another player to take the penalty awarded for a foul on Neymar.^[35] His decision was based on the fact that Neymar had missed a crucial penalty during the Copa do Brasil final 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 Júnior wished to have Neymar suspended for two weeks, but the board sided with the player and promptly sacked the manager, with Neymar later apologising.^[9] In December 2010, aged just 18, Neymar came third for the 2010 South American Footballer of the Year, behind Andrés D'Alessandro and Juan Sebastián Verón.^[36]

2011: Copa Libertadores title, FIFA Club World Cup runner-up and Puskás Award

Neymar (left) training prior to the first leg of the 2011 Copa Libertadores finals at the Centenario Stadium

Despite scoring only four goals in the 2011 Campeonato Paulista, Neymar scored crucial goals during the 2011 season; he scored the only goal of the quarterfinals matchup against Ponte Preta,^[37] and then scored the winning goal in the second leg of the finals against Corinthians to help his club clinch back-to-back state titles.^[38] Neymar scored six goals during Santos' run to the 2011 Copa Libertadores Finals, tying him for third top goal scorer,^[39] including the clinching goal of Santos' 4–3 aggregate win over Cerro Porteño in the semi-finals.^[40] In the two-legged final, Santos faced Uruguayan side Peñarol and drew the first leg 0–0 in Montevideo.^[41] 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.^[42][43] The win brought Santos their first Copa Libertadores triumph since 1963, when Pelé was playing for the club.^[44][45][46]

On 27 July 2011, Neymar scored his first goals of that year's Campeonato Brasileiro, scoring two goals in a thrilling match against Ronaldinho's Flamengo, but could not prevent defeat for his team as they lost 5–4.^[47] His first goal, a spectacular solo dribble, later won the 2011 FIFA Puskás Award. In September 2011, Santos club president Luís 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.^[48] On 29 October, Neymar scored four goals and had two disallowed in a 4–1 victory over Atletico Paranaense.^[49] On 9 November, Neymar and Santos agreed to a contract extension that would see the player stay with the club until after the 2014 World Cup. The deal reportedly increased Neymar's wages by 50%, to the levels that top European clubs would be paying him.^[50]

Neymar on the ball against Barcelona during the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup final

On 14 December, Neymar scored the opening goal for Santos as they defeated Kashiwa Reysol 3–1 in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup in Toyota, Japan. Scoring from 20 meters, his goal was a curled shot into the top corner after evading the defender by deftly switching the ball from his right foot to his left.^[51] It was widely praised, being described as "sublime".^[52] The final against Barcelona was dubbed as a showdown between Neymar and Messi.^[53] Santos coach, Muricy Ramalho, was asked about how his player compares to Messi: "The two are similar, but Neymar is a bit more special. His style alternates the direction of the ball as he carries it [...] Neymar is unpredictable. You don't find anyone in the world who does what he can with the ball."^[54] Neymar made a very small impact in the final against Barcelona on 18 December, where Santos were defeated 4–0.^[55] After the defeat, Neymar said, "Barcelona deserved to win. They are the best team in the world and we learned an important lesson".^[53] Neymar was awarded the tournament's Bronze Ball as the third-best player, behind Xavi and Messi.^[56]

On 31 December, Neymar 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, Romário, Pelé and Zico.^[57]

2012: South America's best player for second consecutive year

Early in 2012, at 19 years old, Neymar finished 10th in the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or rankings.^[58] On 5 February 2012, when he turned 20, he scored his 100th goal as a professional football player, against Palmeiras in the Campeonato Paulista.^[59][60] On 25 February, he scored two goals, one of which was from 25-yards, and created two assists to help his side to a 6–1 win over Ponte Preta.^[61] On 7 March, Neymar netted a hat-trick as Santos saw off Brazilian rivals Internacional with a 3–1 win in the Copa Libertadores group stage.^[62] On 29 March, he scored a brace against Guaratinguetá in a 5–0 victory.^[63] In the fixture against São Paulo on 29 April 2012, Neymar scored a hat-trick with the match ending 3–1.^[64]

Thereafter, he went on to score twice in the first^[65] and second legs^[66] in the 2012 Campeonato Paulista Finals against Guarani, which ended 7–2 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 eight goals, after Santos were beaten over two legs by eventual champions Corinthians in the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate, with Neymar scoring once in the second leg.

Neymar (pictured in 2012) was awarded the South American Footballer of the Year for the second consecutive time.

In 2012, Pelé claimed that Neymar is the best player in the world; former legendary Argentine player Diego Maradona responded to this: "Maybe Neymar is the best player in the world, but only if you say that Messi is from a different planet."^[67] Neymar commented, "Messi is above everyone, there is no use comparing me with him. He is the best player in the world and I always get inspired when I watch good football."^[68] Ronaldo stated: "Neymar is a great talent, the best we have in Brazil. He is very similar to Messi." Zico said, "I see Neymar like a [Cristiano] Ronaldo or a Messi, the type who appears and makes things happen."^[69] After his hat-trick in the 3–1 victory against Internacional in the Copa Libertadores and Messi's five goals scored in the Champions League, Neymar said: "I am a Messi fan. I was told what he did today. I support him to score a lot of nice goals so I can keep copying and imitating him."^[70][71]

On 25 August 2012, he scored a brace in the 2–1 away win at Palmeiras.^[72] On 3 November, in the league fixture away at Cruzeiro, Neymar scored a hat-trick and assisted Felipe Anderson's goal, to help his side to a 4–0 win.^[73] Neymar finished off the 2012 season in style, first setting-up Victor Andrade's equaliser, then scoring twice, to give Santos a 3–1 home win over Palmeiras on 1 December.^[74] Neymar was voted the Best Player of the 2012 Recopa Sudamericana, scoring in the second leg to assist Santos in winning the title, 2–0 on aggregate against U. de Chile. Neymar finished the 2012 season with 43 goals, one more than his breakthrough 2010 season, but this time doing it in just 47 matches instead of 60. Due to his performances, Neymar was awarded the Bola de Ouro for the second consecutive time. He was one of three finalists in the 2012 FIFA Puskás Award and finished runner-up behind Miroslav Stoch. He won the 2012 South American Footballer of the Year, retaining his award and winning it ahead of the likes of Ronaldinho.^[75]

2013: Final season

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.^[76] On 3 February, in the Paulista fixture against São Paulo, Santos won 3–1 with Neymar scoring and making two assists.^[77] The media have often drawn comparisons between Neymar and Pelé,^[78] with Neymar possessing similar attributes to those of Pelé, and them both coming from the Santos Youth Academy. In February 2013, he was on the cover of Time magazine with the title 'The Next Pelé'.^[79] Neymar has said that Pelé is his "role model" but also said: "I don't like to make a comparison with Pelé".^[80] On 18 March, Neymar said that he had a "dream of playing in Europe, for a big club like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea." He went on to say, "There's no point in speculating when I'll leave Santos. I'll leave when I want to."^[81]

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.^[82] On 25 April, his agent and father revealed that Neymar intended to leave for Europe before the 2014 FIFA World Cup.^[83] Neymar finished the state league campaign with 12 goals, and was runner-up in the top scorers charts, as Santos finished state league runner-up to Corinthians. Ahead of his last match for Santos, on 26 May against Flamengo in the first round of the 2013 Brazilian Championship, Neymar was in tears during the national anthem, with the match ending in a draw.^[84]

Prior to his move to Barcelona, Neymar received much enthusiastic praise. Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho tipped him on becoming the best player in the world, stating: "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."^[85] Another Brazilian legend Ronaldo also believed that Neymar could become the best in the world, commenting: "Logically, Messi is better right now but Neymar is a great talent who will show the world that he will be number one".^[86] Former Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano also praised Neymar when he was at Santos, 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."^[87]

Barcelona

Main article: Neymargate

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 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.^[88] On 3 June, Neymar was unveiled by Barcelona after passing medical tests and signing a contract that would keep him at the club through June 2018.^[89]

Neymar was presented at the Camp Nou in front of 56,500 fans, a record turnout for a Brazilian player.^[90] Club vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu initially said Neymar's transfer fee was €57.1 million and his release clause set at €190 million.^[91][92] Barcelona's doctor suggested he might need to gain weight to be able to cope physically in Spanish football.^[93]

Transfer investigation

In January 2014, the prosecutor's office in Madrid began investigating the transfer fee that Barcelona paid for Neymar.^[94] The documents submitted to the authorities on request contained contradictory information.^[94] On 23 January 2014, Sandro Rosell resigned from his position as president.^[95] A day later, the details of the transfer were revealed by Barcelona; the transfer had in fact cost them €86.2 million (£71.5 million),^[96][97][98] with Neymar's parents confirmed to have received a €40 million sum.^[99][100] In the aftermath, Barcelona and Bartomeu were charged with tax fraud.^[101]

2013–14: Adapting to Spain

Neymar playing against Almería in March 2014

On 30 July 2013, Barcelona drew 2–2 against Lechia Gdańsk in a pre-season friendly; Neymar made his unofficial debut when he came on as a substitute.^[102] He scored his first goal for the club in a 7–1 win against a Thailand XI on 7 August at the Rajamangala National Stadium.^[103]

Neymar made his La Liga debut for Barcelona during the opening game of the 2013–14 La Liga season as a 63rd-minute substitute for Alexis Sánchez in a 7–0 win against Levante.^[104] On 21 August, Neymar played in the 2013 Supercopa de España against Copa del Rey holders Atlético Madrid; he made an immediate impact. In the first leg, Atlético took the lead before Neymar came off the bench in the second half and scored a far-post header to level the match—his first goal for the club. At the time, it seemed like just an equaliser, but with the second leg at the Camp Nou ending 0–0, it meant that Neymar’s away goal secured the trophy for Barcelona.^[105]

On 18 September, he made his UEFA Champions League debut, assisting a Gerard Piqué goal as Barça beat Ajax 4–0 in their opening match of the 2013–14 tournament. Six days later, Neymar scored his first goal in La Liga in Barcelona's 4–1 defeat of Real Sociedad at Camp Nou.^[106] On 26 October, he made his first El Clásico appearance, scoring the opening goal and assisting the team's winning goal scored by Alexis Sánchez as Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2–1 at Camp Nou.^[107] On 11 December, Neymar recorded his first three Champions League goals as he scored a hat-trick in a 6–1 win over Celtic in Barcelona's final Group H match.^[108]

15 games into the La Liga season, Neymar had produced a respectable four goals and eight assists, nailing down the left-wing position in the Barcelona team.^[109] However, Neymar felt low, expressing in an interview over a decade later: "I spent the first 6 months at Barça with butterflies in my stomach [...] There was a day I was so upset. It was half-time, against Athletic Bilbao, and I went into the dressing room pissed at myself. I was playing so bad".^[109] Neymar featured heavily in his debut season with Barcelona, ending the campaign with 15 goals in 41 appearances.^[110]

2014–15: Elevation to one of the world's best, MSN dominance and the treble

Neymar playing against Villarreal in February 2015

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^[111] and scored in his next three La Liga matches, including the opening goal in a 1–3 loss to Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.^[112] On 24 January 2015, Neymar scored twice and assisted two more goals in a 6–0 win at Elche.^[113] On 28 January, he scored his 20th goal of the season in a 3–2 Copa del Rey quarter-final win over Atlético Madrid.^[114]

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.^[115] 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 (PSG).^[116] 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.^[117] 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.^[118] 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.^[119]

Neymar (centre) celebrating the 2014–15 Champions League triumph against Juventus in May 2015

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.^[120] 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.^[121]

On 6 June, 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.^[122] This made Barcelona the first club in history to twice win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup.^[123] 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.^[124] Neymar ended the season with 39 goals in all competitions and 10 in the Champions League, making him joint highest scorer with Ronaldo and teammate Messi in the latter competition.^[125] Neymar scored 13 goals in his final 13 games of the season for Barcelona.^[126] He was the first player apart from those two to top the competition's scoring list, since compatriot Kaká in 2006–07.^[127] 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.^[128]

2015–16: Ballon d'Or candidate, domestic double and contract extension

Due to having the mumps, Neymar missed the 2015 UEFA Super Cup and the 2015 Supercopa de España.^[129] On 26 September, Messi suffered a serious knee injury in Barcelona’s 2–1 win over Las Palmas, keeping him out for two months.^[130] In Messi's absence, Neymar experienced one of the greatest peaks in his career, widely being praised as the best player in the world during this period. He scored 13 goals and provided 9 assists in just 8 games.^[131]

On 17 October, he 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.^[132] On 8 November, he scored a "stunning" goal in a 3–0 win against Villarreal, receiving the ball from just inside the area and flicking it up over his shoulder and over a defender before volleying it into the goal.^[133] Villareal manager Marcelino García Toral lauded Neymar following the goal against his team: "He is probably the most in-form attacker in the league, decisive in front of goal and also in their [buildup] play".^[134] On 21 November, Neymar scored one and provided a back heel assist for Iniesta in Barcelona's 4–0 away win against Real Madrid.^[135] 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.^[136] By this point of the season, at 23 years old, several media outlets praised Neymar as elevating to the same level of Messi and Ronaldo, arguably being the best player in the world.^[137][138] Sports writer Andrew Murray was of similar praise for Neymar, writing, "From the end of September until the end of November, he has been the best player in the world."^[126] On 30 November, Neymar was shortlisted for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or alongside Messi and Ronaldo.^[139] Several journalists argued that Neymar deserved to win the award, highlighting his importance in the crucial stages of the 2014–15 Champions League and during Messi's absence in the first half of 2015–16.^{[140][141][142][143][144]} He came in third place.^[145]

Neymar training with Brazil under-23 in August 2016, a month after his contract extension with Barcelona.

On 16 March 2016, against Arsenal in the second leg of the round of 16 fixture, Neymar opened the scoring in a 3–1 win at Camp Nou to seal a 5–1 aggregate victory, helping Barcelona advance.^[146] Barcelona got knocked out in the quarter-final to Atlético Madrid.^[147] In total, Neymar scored three goals in the Champions League; while not as prolific in the Champions League as in the treble-winning 2014–15 campaign, Neymar’s 2015–16 season saw him also get 5 assists in the 9 games he played in.^[148] 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.^[149][150] The front three of Messi, Suárez and Neymar finished the season with 131 goals, breaking the record they had set the previous year for most goals by an attacking trio in a single season.^[151] Despite a dip in form at the end of the season,^[152] Neymar ultimately reached over 30 goals for the second consecutive season, scoring 31. He also got 25 assists in the 49 matches he played over the season.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 July 2016, Neymar signed a new contract with Barcelona until 2021.^[153] He expressed on social media, "I'm very happy to continue living this dream! Long live Barcelona and long live Catalunya!".^[153] His new contract included a €200 million buy-out clause, rising to €222m in the second year of his deal, and €250m thereafter.^[153] His future at Barcelona had been in doubt over rumours that the likes of Real Madrid, PSG and Manchester City were considering to make huge offers for him.^[153]

2016–17: La Remontada and final season

Neymar celebrating after Barcelona's sixth goal against PSG in the Champions League second leg win in February 2017

On 13 September 2016, Neymar registered a goal and four assists in Barcelona's 7–0 win against Celtic in the group stage of the Champions League.^[154] He scored his first goal of the 2016–17 La Liga season against Leganés in a 5–1 on 17 September 2016.^[155] In front of goal, Neymar had a poor start to the season (in all competitions), and scored his last goal of 2016 in the Champions League group stage fixture against Man City on 19 October 2016, a 4–0 win.^[156] Neymar ended 2016 with a tally of only 29 goals, whereas in 2015 he scored 46 goals. It was his least prolific year since 2009, his first year as a professional player.^[156]

"While there is a 1% chance, we will have
99% faith."

— Neymar after the 4–0 loss against PSG
on 15 February 2017^[157]

Neymar's highlight of the season was in Barcelona's 6–1 victory (widely known as La Remontada English translation: The Comeback) over PSG in the Champions League round of 16 on 8 March 2017. Barcelona were 5–3 down on aggregate in the 88th minute, but scored three goals in the final seven minutes to progress into the quarter-final.^[158] Overcoming the 4–0 loss to PSG in the first leg from 14 February 2017, this second leg match became the biggest comeback in Champions League history.^[159] Neymar had a "heroic" role^[160] in this comeback: he scored a "sumptuous" free-kick into the top corner and scored a penalty a few minutes later, leaving Barcelona with one goal to find in injury time. In the 95th minute, Neymar produced the assist for Sergi Roberto's winner as the Camp Nou went wild.^[158] In this historic match, Neymar was named man of the match.^[161] As the "primary architect" of La Remontada,^[162] Robin Bairner of Goal said his performance cemented his legacy as the third-best player of his generation, behind Messi and Ronaldo.^[163] With his assist for Roberto, Neymar also broke the record for the most assists in a Champions League campaign (8).^[164]

On 11 February, Neymar scored against Alavés in a 6–0 away win in La Liga to surpass Ronaldinho's tally of 94 goals with Barcelona.^[165] Neymar comfortably beat Ronaldinho's record, scoring his 95th goal in 169 matches for Barcelona (Ronaldinho scored 94 goals in 207 appearances).^[165] On 2 April, Neymar scored his 100th goal for Barcelona in his 177th appearance for the club, netting in a 4–1 win over Granada.^[166][167] On 15 May, he scored his first away hat-trick for Barcelona in a 4-1 victory against Las Palmas, ensuring that the La Liga's title race would go down to the final day of the season.^[168] Following this victory, Neymar expressed, "This is a great season for me, I even think I have had my best season since I arrived here."^[168] Real Madrid won the La Liga title thanks to a final-day victory at Málaga.^[169] On 27 May, Neymar scored in the 2017 Copa del Rey Final, his 105th goal for the club, as Barcelona defeated Alavés 3–1 at the Vicente Calderón in Madrid.^[170] This made him the first player to score in three consecutive Copa del Rey finals since Ferenc Puskás in the 1960s.^[171] Despite the poor start to the season, Neymar ended the season with 20 goals, as well as 21 assists.^[172]

According to former Barcelona teammate Xavi, Neymar informed his teammates of his desire to leave Barcelona at Messi's wedding in June 2017.^[173] By July, media speculation emerged that Neymar wanted to join PSG, with the club holding talks with Barcelona officials. Many in the media believed Neymar was driven to leave Barcelona so he could step out of Messi’s shadow and become the sole star himself, improving his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or.^[174] On 22 July, Neymar scored twice in a 2–1 win over Juventus in a pre-season friendly. His second goal saw him beat five defenders before scoring, being described as a "ridiculous" goal.^[175] His final unofficial match for Barcelona came on 29 July in a 3–2 win over Real Madrid.^[176] Barcelona president, Bartomeu, admitted he was powerless to stop him from wanting to leave: "Neymar is one of our best players and so we don't want to lose that player," he said. "We want him to continue with us. He still has four years of his contract so there is nothing else to say [...] You know that players decide if they want to leave, they can decide."^[177] On 2 August, Neymar asked Barcelona to allow him to leave.^[178] Fox Sports reported that in the short time that he was at Barcelona, Neymar left his mark in the club's history and was a "crucial piece" to their success in those years.^[179] He scored 105 goals and assisted 76 in 186 appearances for Barcelona, only trailing Rivaldo as the most prolific Brazilian for Barcelona.^[180][181]

Paris Saint-Germain

Neymar posing with his PSG number 10 jersey with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in August 2017

On 3 August 2017, Barcelona announced that Neymar's legal representatives made a payment of €222 million^[182] to the club, equal to the release clause of his contract, which constituted the most expensive transfer ever. The club informed UEFA so that they can determine any disciplinary responsibilities that may arise from this case.^[3] According to the BBC, in Spain, the release clause must be activated by the footballer himself. The situation was unusual, in that the fee was paid to the club directly, after La Liga had refused to receive the payment.^[183][4] Usually, the buyout clause is deposited with La Liga in order to release the player from his contract, and the league then passes the money to the selling club. However, La Liga rejected the payment—citing violation of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules by PSG, who are backed by money from Gulf state Qatar.^[184]

Despite the belief that Neymar joined PSG to improve his chances of becoming the best player in the world, he cited his reason for joining the club as wanting a new challenge, including the opportunity to lead a team at club level again.^{[185][186][187]} A sports writer noted that Neymar remaining at Barcelona would have meant continuing as one of several prominent players in a team, but at PSG he faced the greater challenge of creating history where there was not much.^[188] Neymar's father told the media that Neymar was not desperate to win the Ballon d'Or—if he was he would have stayed at Barcelona because "he had everything" at the club.^[189] According to Neymar's father, Neymar wanted to get out of his comfort zone.^[189] Neymar's father also revealed that an offer from PSG was received in the previous year, but this time PSG's offer was "very interesting".^[189]

PSG's group of Brazilian players (Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Dani Alves and Lucas Moura) was one of the factors for Neymar joining the club.

Neymar joined PSG on a contract that would run until 2022,^[190] earning roughly €30 million a year—this doubled his Barcelona salary and made him the second-highest paid player in the world.^{[191][192][193]} He was also paid €40m up front, which was believed to be given to his father.^[194] Many in the media pointed to money as one of the catalysts for him joining PSG.^[195] Cafu defended the claims that Neymar was a mercenary for joining PSG, stating that it was an opportunity for him to be "an idol, a star" and to be important to PSG's chances of winning the Champions League.^[196] Former Barcelona player Rivaldo also supported the view that he had to leave Barcelona to be the focal player, which was impossible with Messi's presence.^[197] In 2025, Neymar further revealed that he left Barcelona because of the opportunity to play with his fellow Brazilian teammates Thiago Silva, Dani Alves, Marquinhos, and Lucas Moura, as well as the financially better contract.^[198]

Neymar’s transfer from Barcelona to PSG was viewed as a step back in terms of prestige and competitiveness.^{[199][200][201][185]} Sports analysts noted that with Neymar leaving behind a club with established Champions League history and success to join a club with none, this caused him to have a greater challenge to deliver.^[202] It was widely understood that PSG signed Neymar to increase their chances of winning their much desired first Champions League title.^{[203][204][205]} As a brand, the signing of Neymar was also expected to be instrumental in promoting PSG, as well as Ligue 1, around the world.^[206] Manchester United manager José Mourinho gave his thoughts on the unprecedented transfer fee to sign Neymar: "Expensive are the ones who get into a certain level without a certain quality. For £200m, I don't think [Neymar] is expensive."^[207]

The relationship between Neymar and Barcelona fans was tainted following his unexpected transfer to PSG, with some fans burning Barcelona jerseys with Neymar's name on them.^[208] In his presentation on 17 August, Neymar said that leaving Barcelona was one of the toughest decisions in his life.^[209] The presentation was reported to have been watched by 85 million viewers in Brazil.^[210] In celebration of Neymar's transfer, the Eiffel Tower shone in the red and blue colours of PSG, with the text 'Bienvenue Neymar Jr' on display.^[211] It was the first time that this was presented for a football player.^[212] Neymar was unequivocally considered the star player of Ligue 1; Lille's general director Marc Ingla credited the presence of Neymar in Ligue 1 to potentially accelerating it into a powerhouse league in Europe, alongside the Premier League and La Liga.^[213] He was given the number 10 shirt by Javier Pastore as a "welcome gift".^[214][215]

Contract breach lawsuit

On 27 August 2017, Barcelona filed a lawsuit against Neymar, demanding he return the contract renewal bonus he received as well as €8.5 million in damages and an additional 10% for the arrears. They claimed they are owed money that Neymar received as part of a renewal bonus when he signed a new contract in 2016. The club also requested PSG to take on the responsibility for the payment of the fees if the player cannot do so himself.^[216] Neymar's lawyers announced that they would contest the case.^[217]

2017–18: The new star of France, domestic treble and first of frequent injuries

Neymar made his debut for PSG on 13 August 2017, scoring a goal and assisting another in a 3–0 away victory over Guingamp.^[218] Highlighting the hype around Neymar's arrival in Paris, the match was broadcast in 183 countries.^[219] After the match, Neymar said, "People think that leaving Barca is to die, but it's the opposite [...] I'm more alive than ever."^[220] Lucas Deaux, who marked Neymar in the match, said, "I have never seen a player like this before."^[221] In a 6–2 victory on 20 August, he added two more goals to his tally, as well as two assists,^[222] in the following Ligue 1 fixture against Toulouse.^[223] His second goal was described by Sky Sports News as "a sensational individual dribble that saw him take on the entire Toulouse defence, and beating them, before finding the back of the net".^[224] Neymar's performance was also described as "a one‑man wrecking crew".^[222] NBA star Stephen Curry, who was invited to the match, gave his view on Neymar: "Every time he's on the pitch, you know something is going to happen. There are plenty of similarities between the way he plays and the way I play."^[225]

On 17 September, a penalty-set piece dispute between Neymar and Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani took place in a league match against Lyon.^[226] During the 2–0 win, Alves grabbed the ball from Cavani to give it to Neymar for a free-kick. Later, Neymar tried to claim the penalty spot, but this time Cavani insisted and took it—only to have it saved. Cameras captured a brief on-field spat, including Cavani telling Neymar: "Do I look like Messi?".^[226] Reports suggested that Neymar and Cavani had to be separated after the match.^[227] Neymar scored against rivals Marseille in his first Le Classique, on 22 October, but was sent off—the first time in his PSG career.^[228] Forming a prolific attacking trio alongside teenage French prodigy Kylian Mbappé and Cavani, Neymar scored one each in PSG's two opening games of the 2017–18 Champions League group stage, with the team winning 5–0 at Celtic and 3–0 at home over Bayern Munich respectively.^[229][230] In the return leg against Celtic at home, Neymar was "at his brilliant best", being the creative force as he scored twice and assisted once in PSG's 7–1 win.^[231] In the Champions League group stage, comparing the previous season to this season, PSG went from 13 goals to 25, whereas Barcelona dropped from 20 to nine goals scored.^[232]

Neymar playing for PSG against Lille in February 2018. At PSG, he was allowed to flourish as a free-roaming number 10.

Neymar finished in third place in the 2017 Ballon d'Or and the FIFA The Best Mens Player awards.^[233] In the same year, he was ranked the third-best footballer in the world by The Guardian.^[234] All three awards rankings were behind Messi and Ronaldo.^[234] Early in the new year, there were reports speculating that Real Madrid were going to sign Neymar at the end of the season.^[235] Neymar played down these rumours, saying that he was happy at PSG and wanted to make history at the club.^[235] On 17 January 2018, Neymar displayed one of his greatest career performances, scoring four goals and assisting two in an 8–0 thrashing of Dijon in the league.^[236] Neymar's third goal was an excellent solo goal, where he started from the byline squeezing past two opponents before going on to dribble past another two and scoring from just inside the box.^[237] He became only the second player to ever earn a 10 rating from L'Equipe for a league match performance.^[236] With six goal involvements against Dijon, this was also the most goal involvements in a Ligue 1 match since Opta records began.^[238] On 14 February, against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, Neymar was "the chief tormentor of the Real Madrid defence" and assisted Adrien Rabiot's opening goal, but PSG lost 3–1.^[239] During a 3–0 defeat of Marseille on 25 February, he fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot. He travelled to Belo Horizonte and underwent a successful operation on his foot.^[240]

Despite failing to make another appearance for PSG while recovering from the injury, Neymar consequently ended his first season in Paris with 28 goals in 30 matches, including six goals and four assists^[241] in 7 Champions League matches.^[242] He won the domestic treble of the Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and Coupe de la Ligue titles,^{[243][244][245]} being focal to PSG retrieving the Ligue 1 title following Monaco's triumph in the previous season.^[246] This was one of the greatest seasons of his career; he had become the driving force for PSG in similar fashion to Messi's position at Barcelona.^[247] A testament to the success of Neymar's debut season, he received the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award.^[248] In just 20 games in Ligue 1, he scored 19 goals and was also the Ligue 1 top assist provider, with 13 assists.^[249] He was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year and was included in the European Sports Media (ESM) Team of the Season for 2017–18, a recognition compiled by the likes of France Football, La Gazzetta dello Sport and Marca.^[250][251] Despite missing the final three months of the season, Neymar was ranked number 6 in ESPN's year-end Power Rankings of the best players of the season across all leagues.^[252]

2018–19: Brazil's all-time top scorer in the Champions League, second Ligue 1 title and off the field controversies

On 4 August, PSG defeated Monaco 4–0 to win the Trophée des Champions, with Neymar featuring for 15 minutes.^[253] On 12 August 2018, Neymar scored PSG's opening league goal of the 2018–19 season in a 3–0 win over Caen at Parc des Princes.^[254] Neymar scored from a penalty in his next game as PSG won 3–1 against Guingamp in Ligue 1.^[255] In the following league game, on 25 August, the front three of Neymar, Mbappé and Cavani all scored in a 3–1 win over Angers at home, with Neymar scoring from Mbappé's cut back and setting up Cavani to score the opener.^[256] Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp drew attention to the threat of Neymar ahead of PSG's first match against Liverpool of the Champions League group stage on 18 September: "We'll try to avoid passes to him. We'll try to avoid him winning challenges [...] I'm not sure if it's even 100 per cent possible to avoid his quality [...] He's a fantastic footballer, an outstanding player."^[257] In the match, Neymar set up Mbappé's equaliser to make it 2–2, but Liverpool ultimately beat PSG 3–2 with a late goal.^[258]

Neymar during the Champions League pre-match warm up against Red Star Belgrade in December 2018

In an article from 2 October, Nico Morales of The Athletic observed that at PSG, Neymar's occupancy in central areas helped accentuate his ability as a creator, becoming a better player.^[259] Morales further said that instead of being a threat solely in wide areas like he was during his time at Barcelona, Neymar was now able to showcase his "world-class" ability as a playmaker.^[259] The following day, 3 October, Neymar scored a hattrick in a 6–1 win over Red Star Belgrade in a Champions League group stage fixture, scoring two free kicks.^[260] On 28 November, Neymar showcased an impressive performance in the second match against Liverpool, in which he scored PSG's second goal in their 2–1 win.^[261] Barney Ronay of The Guardian described it as his "most effective high-profile performance since his Barcelona days".^[261] Having scored his 31st goal in the Champions League, Neymar also surpassed Kaká (30) as Brazil's all-time top scorer in the Champions League.^[262] In the away fixture against Red Star Belgrade on 11 December, which ended with a 4–1 victory for PSG,^[263] Neymar scored an impressive goal: he cut into the area from the left, got past two defenders and feinted a shot past the goalkeeper before scoring.^[264]

Neymar suffered a foot injury in late January 2019 that kept him out of his side's Champions League round of 16 tie against Manchester United.^[265] After United eliminated PSG, Neymar went on social media to insult video review officials for awarding a stoppage-time penalty to United; UEFA banned him for three matches for the insult.^[266] On 27 April, Neymar scored in the 2019 Coupe de France Final against Rennes, but Rennes made a comeback and won on penalties. After the match, Neymar was caught on video appearing to punch a spectator in the face.^[267] The spectator had been filming and insulting PSG players. PSG said they supported Neymar "100 percent" over the incident.^[266] Neymar admitted he was wrong, but argued that neither he nor anyone else could have stayed indifferent. PSG coach Thomas Tuchel responded: "It's not easy to climb the stairs after a defeat. If we lose, we must show respect. You can't come into conflict with a spectator."^[267] Nevertheless, Neymar won his second league title with PSG.^[268] Despite only playing 17 league matches, he was also named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year for the second consecutive year.^[269]

Controversy was also caused by Neymar adopting more of a "pop star" lifestyle since he arrived at PSG, including being often involved in Paris Fashion Week.^[270] Neymar previously hung out with comedian Kevin Hart and NBA player Jimmy Butler for an event at the French restaurant Matignon.^[271] At the end of the 2018-19 season, Neymar skipped Ligue 1's end-of-season awards ceremony to party with singer Rihanna, causing Mbappé to demand more responsibility within the PSG squad.^[272] This resulted in disappointment by the PSG hierarchy, and some considered this change in lifestyle to be a distraction from his football career.^[273] Neymar was not included on the 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d'Or, the first time since 2010 that he was not nominated for the award.^[274] France Football, the organiser of the award, stated that the reason for this was because he had a "black year" (injuries and the several off the field issues).^[274]

Potential return to Barcelona

In July 2019, Neymar was absent from training with PSG, with the club talking disciplinary action.^[275] Neymar wanted to leave PSG as he felt referees never protected him, there was jealousy towards him from some dressing room team-mates, fans did not appreciate his talent showcased in PSG and sections of the French media were against him.^[276]

According to Sky Sports News, Neymar was prepared to pay €20m of his own money to PSG in five instalments to facilitate a move to Barcelona. On 27 August 2019, both clubs met to discuss Neymar's situation, but according to PSG sporting director Leonardo, Barcelona's only written offer came during the meeting, which was not enough and PSG refused.^[276] Three days later, on 30 August, an offer was made in writing from Neymar to PSG general manager Jean-Claude Blanc. Neymar's offer was dismissed by PSG because of French football federation regulations,^[276] and he ultimately agreed to stay at PSG after the talks to return to Barcelona broke down.^[277] Sky Sports News also reported that Real Madrid were interested in signing Neymar throughout the transfer window.^[277]

2019–20: Second domestic treble and leading PSG to first Champions League final

Neymar before converting a penalty against Lille in January 2020

The long drawn-out, but ultimately unsuccessful, transfer speculation of Neymar moving back to Barcelona caused tensions in Paris.^[278] On 14 September, his first appearance for PSG in the 2019–20 season, Neymar was relentlessly booed for 90 minutes before scoring a "sublime" bicycle kick in injury time to win 1–0 against Strasbourg in Ligue 1.^[278][279] One week later, he again scored a late winner, as PSG defeated Lyon 1–0 at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.^[280] Neymar suffered a hamstring injury in October while on international duty with Brazil,^[281] and returned to play for PSG during their Champions League group stage match against Real Madrid on 26 November in a 2–2 draw. Despite not scoring, Neymar was vital, adding dimension to PSG's attacking threat.^[282]

Neymar won his third league title after PSG were awarded Ligue 1 as the season finished early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[283] In his first 50 matches in Ligue 1, Neymar scored 46 goals, nearly matching the record of Marseille's Gunnar Andersson with 47 in the early 1950s.^[284] On 24 July 2020, in PSG's first professional game back after the pandemic, Neymar scored his side's lone goal in a 1–0 win over Saint-Étienne in the Coupe de France Final, winning his second Coupe de France title with the club.^[285] On 31 July, PSG won the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue Final 6–5 on penalties over Lyon, following a 0–0 draw after extra time, which saw the side complete a domestic treble, with Neymar netting one of the penalties in the shoot-out.^[286]

Neymar was greatly influential in the knockout stages of the Champions League, dictating play and being at the core of attack. He scored in both legs of PSG's round of 16 win over Borussia Dortmund, which took place before the impact of COVID-19 on the season.^[287] Prior to the Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta on 12 August, Neymar said, "I am in my best form since I arrived in Paris", further saying, "We want to win the Champions League title. We will fight because we have never been so close."^[288] In the match, he assisted the equalising goal in injury time in an eventual 2–1 win.^[289] As a result of his performance in the match, the BBC published an article the following day titled 'Neymar: Is he now the best player in the world?'.^[290] In the semi-final against RB Leipzig, he assisted one goal in a 3–0 victory, which saw PSG reach the Champions League final for the first time in their history.^[291] Marca were also praiseful of Neymar, considering him the most decisive and the best player in the world following his "masterclass" performances leading up to the final.^[292] A sports journalist highlighted that by guiding PSG to the final, Neymar accomplished what earlier club marque signings, such as Zlatan Ibrahimović, could not do.^[293] Manager Tuchel praised Neymar as a "leader" during the run to the Champions League final.^[294] French journalist Julien Laurens deemed Neymar as being "the focal point of the team [...] he’s dominating the game, making all differences to create almost all opportunities."^[295] Eurosport France journalist Vincent Bregevin was of the same praise, claiming that Neymar's availability as a result of not being injured was imperative to PSG's performances en route to the final.^[295] In the final on 23 August, Neymar had his chances to score, but failed to—at times owing to a dominant Manuel Neuer performance.^[287] PSG lost 1–0 to Bayern Munich.^[296] With his focal ambition of being the talisman to PSG winning its first ever Champions League title, Neymar was distraught and had to be consoled by the club's sporting director Leonardo.^[297]

With three goals and four assists in seven Champions League matches,^[241] Neymar was amongst the nominees for the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, being the highest ranked PSG player at fourth place.^[298] Neymar was also ranked third for the UEFA Forward of the Season, behind Mbappé and Robert Lewandowski.^[299] Some journalists debated whether Neymar outshone Lewandowski as the best player of 2020.^[295] With the end of his third season with PSG, one of Neymar's finest with the club, he had amassed a staggering total of 70 goals and 45 assists in only 85 matches for PSG.^[238]

2020–21: Goalscoring records, near second consecutive Champions League final and contract extension

Neymar surpassed Zlatan Ibrahimović for the quickest time taken to reach 50 goals in Ligue 1.

Neymar missed out on the first match of the 2020–21 season because he had tested positive for COVID-19 a week earlier.^[300][301] However, he returned on 13 September in Le Classique. For the first time since 2011, Marseille were victorious, winning 1–0. The match had 14 yellow cards and five red cards handed out by the referee, including one of each to Neymar.^[302] Neymar scored his first two goals of the season in a 6–1 win against Angers on 2 October.^[303] He entered the list of the top ten goal scorers in PSG history by doing so, scoring his 72nd for the club, which put him level with Raí.^[304] On 28 November, Neymar scored his 50th goal in Ligue 1, converting a penalty in PSG's 2–2 draw against Bordeaux. This made him the fastest player in Ligue 1 history to reach this, doing so in only 58 matches.^[305] This record surpassed the likes of Ibrahimović, Radamel Falcao, Pauleta and Mbappé.^[306]

On 2 December, he scored two goals in a 3–1 Champions League victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford.^[307] CNN called Neymar's performance a "masterclass", praising his skill and finishing.^[308] His brace boosted PSG’s qualification hopes for the knockout stage.^[309] In PSG's final group match, Neymar scored his third career Champions League hat-trick against İstanbul Başakşehir, as his side won 5–1 and qualified for the knockout stage as group winners.^[310] He became the first player in European Cup and Champions League history to score 20 goals for two different clubs, scoring 21 goals for Barcelona in 40 games, and 20 for PSG in 25 games.^[311] On 13 January 2021, in a 2–1 win over rivals Marseille in the Trophée des Champions, Neymar scored the winning goal from a penalty.^[312][313] He sustained a left adductor injury in a 1–0 cup win over Caen on 10 February, ruling him out for four weeks;^[314] this was his third injury of the season.^[315][316] On 21 March, he was back in action, coming on as a substitute in a 4–2 league win against Lyon.^[317]

Neymar was absent for PSG's defeat of Barcelona, but he was present in both matches of the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich. PSG beat defending champions Bayern Munich 3–2 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal; Neymar had two assists.^[318] PSG booked their spot in the semi-finals on away goals after losing the second leg 1–0.^[319] Prior to Neymar's arrival at PSG in 2017, the club had not progressed beyond the quarter final stage of the Champions League since 1994–95; they had now done so in two consecutive seasons.^[320] Ahead of the first leg against Man City, manager Pep Guardiola praised Neymar: "He's a joy to watch. As a spectator, I enjoy it a lot every time [...] And I’m pretty sure if he’d stayed in Barcelona, Barcelona would've won two or three Champions Leagues more."^[321] PSG failed to reach a second consecutive Champions League final as they were knocked out by Man City. PSG also failed to win their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title, losing out to Lille. However, they won the Coupe de France, which was Neymar's third and final cup with PSG.^[322] Neymar was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year for the third time.^[323]

On 8 May, Neymar extended his contract with PSG until 2025.^[324] Upon this extension, he said he wanted to achieve PSG's biggest dream, to win the Champions League.^[325] Further comments included, "My goal when I came [here] was to help get Paris Saint-Germain to the top, among the very best, and we are getting close".^[325]

2021–22: 100th PSG goal and record-tying Ligue 1 title

Neymar (right) with Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi against Marseille during Le Classique in October 2021

Neymar was nominated for the 2021 Ballon d'Or.^[326] This was his ninth nomination—a record for a Brazilian player.^[326] Earlier on in the year, IFFHS ranked Neymar in second place behind Messi for their CONMEBOL The Best Man Player of the Decade (2011–2020) award.^[327] In their World’s Best Player of the Decade (2011–2020) award, Neymar did not make the top three, but came in fourth place, behind Messi, Ronaldo, and Iniesta.^[327]

On 10 August 2021, Neymar's former Barcelona teammate Messi signed for PSG.^[328] On 29 August, Neymar made his first appearance of the season, being a starter in a 2–0 win over Reims. Messi replaced Neymar at the 66th minute of the match, making his debut for the French club.^[329] Neymar scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season on 19 September, converting a penalty in a 2–1 win over Lyon.^[330] He scored his 400th career goal on 6 November against Bordeaux, where he scored a brace and helped the team to win the match 3–2.^[331]

On 28 November, Neymar suffered an ankle injury in a 3–1 win over Saint-Étienne. He was taken off on a stretcher at the 85th minute of the match.^[332] His return from injury came on 15 February 2022 in a Champions League match against Real Madrid, where he came on as a substitute and assisted Mbappé's injury-time goal to win the match 1–0.^[333] Four days later, he made his return to league play and his first start in 2022 in a match against Nantes; he scored a goal and missed a penalty in a 3–1 loss at the Stade de la Beaujoire.^[334] On 13 March, following their Champions League elimination against Real Madrid in the round of 16, Neymar and his teammate Messi were booed by some of the PSG fans at the Parc des Princes in the league match against Bordeaux.^[335][336] On 21 May, he scored his 100th goal with PSG in a 5–0 win over Metz.^[337]

Neymar helped PSG win their record-tying 10th national championship,^[338] finishing the season with 13 goals and 8 assists across all competitions, registering the fewest test scored since arriving in Europe in 2013, in a season marked by various injuries and collective irregularity.^[339]

2022–23: Brief return to best form before injury and final season

Neymar celebrating with Mbappé after scoring a league goal in August 2022

Following a disappointing form in the previous season and with the club's change in transfer policy, Neymar was linked with a potential departure from the club, but the lack of potential suitors broke down a potential move, despite PSG's Football Advisor Luís Campos dismissing those rumours – stating that Neymar was part of the club's project.^[340]

Neymar started the season in tremendous form, scoring twice against Nantes on 31 July as PSG won 4–0 to win the Trophée des Champions.^[341] He then scored a goal and provided a hat-trick of assists in a 5–0 win against Clermont on 6 August.^[340][342] As part of his prolific attacking trio alongside Mbappé and Messi, on 21 August, all three scored and assisted with Neymar netting twice and registering three more assists in PSG's 7–1 away win over Lille.^[343][344] After registering 13 goal contributions in his first five league games, Neymar was named Ligue 1's Player of the Month in August.^[340][345]

By early October 2022, Neymar was considered one of the stand-out players in Europe and back to his peak form, having scored 11 goals and providing 9 assists in just 13 games.^[346] Manager Christophe Galtier praised Neymar for playing his best ever football in PSG,^[347] and his performances led him to be one of the favourites to win the 2023 Ballon d'Or, alongside top performers Erling Haaland and Mbappé.^[348]

In the second half of the season, having already sustained an injury at the 2022 FIFA World Cup during the winter, injuries yet again affected Neymar's season. On 6 March 2023, PSG announced that Neymar would undergo surgery in Doha and would be ruled out for the remainder of the season.^[349] This led to Neymar missing PSG's second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich, in which PSG ended up being eliminated. After reports that Messi would leave the club following the expiration of his contract, a group of PSG supporters gathered outside the club's headquarters, protesting against the club's direction and insulting various figures of the club, including Neymar. Another group of individuals went to Neymar's house, demanding him to leave the club.^[350][351] On 27 May, PSG won Ligue 1; this was Neymar's fifth and final league title in France.^[352]

August 2023: Departure

"It is naturally difficult to say goodbye to a legend of the club, which Neymar will always be. I will never forget the day he arrived at PSG, nor what he brought to the club and to our project over the course of these six years. We have lived through extraordinary times and Neymar will always be a part of our history. I want to thank him, as well as his family. We wish Neymar the best for the future and for his next adventure."

— PSG's President Nasser Al-Khelaifi on Neymar's departure from Paris Saint-Germain.^[353]

At the end of the 2022–23 season, PSG began a squad overhaul and after not renewing the contracts of Sergio Ramos and Messi, following the arrival of Luis Enrique as the club's new manager, Neymar and Marco Verratti were informed that they would not be in the team's plans for the following season.^[354] Neymar was linked with a potential return to Barcelona. However, Barcelona's hierarchy never reached an advanced stage to discuss finer economic details and possibilities, as the club's manager Xavi was not keen on signing him, leading both clubs to fail to reach an agreement.^[355]

Neymar left PSG with ten major trophies won, including five Ligue 1 titles. He contributed an outstanding 197 goal involvements (118 goals, 79 assists) in 173 appearances.^[356] He has been credited as a legend of PSG, trailing only Ibrahimović, Cavani, and Mbappé in the club's top scorers at the time of his departure, and one of Ligue 1's greatest players.^{[220][357][358][359]} His tenure at PSG allowed him to flourish in the role of a true number 10, evolving into a more well-rounded player as he took on greater responsibility in dictating the flow of the game, more so than during his tenure at Barcelona.^[259] He also assumed greater priority within the team, being entrusted with set pieces and penalties.^[360] Peter Rutzler of Forbes praised Neymar as "an increasingly rare phenomenon in a modern game of academy-refined talent", whilst another sports writer hailed him as "one of the greatest players ever to wear the famous dark blue shirt".^[361][362] Neymar's goal-scoring success at PSG made him one of the few players to have scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs,^[363] and he also established himself as the highest-scoring Brazilian in the Champions League at the club.^[364]

However, Neymar's tenure at PSG was marred by injuries and not helping the club win the much desired Champions League title. He missed 119 matches for PSG in total and only played over 30 games (in a single season) once as a result of being injured around 20 times across his six-year spell, showing a fragility that was not seen either at Barcelona or Santos.^[365][366] His injury struggles hindered his explosiveness and contributed to him not achieving more in his prime years.^[367][368] James Westwood of Goal presents a personal viewpoint, claiming that Neymar's decision to join PSG caused the best years of his career to be "wasted".^[208] Rutzler of Forbes shared the view that Neymar’s move to PSG was supposed to see him cement himself as the undisputed world’s best player, but it never happened.^[362] Neymar claimed that he was in position to win the Ballon d'Or at PSG, but the frequent injuries limited his chances.^[369]

There are arguments that Neymar should have never left Barcelona; however, his departure from Barcelona triggered a slow decline in the club’s identity and performance.^[370][371] After he left, the attacking threat of MSN collapsed and Messi had an even greater creative burden.^[372][373] The expensive replacements—Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembélé—never got close to matching Neymar’s impact.^[374] This loss of dynamism and attacking threat contributed to a series of humiliating Champions League exits against Roma (2018), Liverpool (2019), and Bayern Munich (2020).^{[375][376][377]} Both PSG and Barcelona won multiple league titles during Neymar's tenure at PSG, but Barcelona failed to win or reach a Champions League final.^[371] Despite his frequent injuries at PSG, Neymar stands as their fourth-highest-goalscorer of all time and fifth-highest-assister of all time.^[356]

Al-Hilal

On 15 August 2023, Neymar completed a transfer to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal on a two-year contract, joining a list of European league players who signed for the club, including Rúben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sergej Milinković-Savić.^{[378][379][380]} The transfer fee was reported to be worth €90 million, making him the most expensive purchase in Saudi Pro League history.^[380] He was also reportedly being paid €150m a year at Al-Hilal, six times the amount he earned at PSG.^[381] According to The Independent, Barcelona was the only European club that showed genuine interest in signing Neymar; other top clubs turned away primarily due to his high salary and the expected transfer fee to sign him.^[382]

As a marquee signing, Neymar's transfer to Al-Hilal drew comparisons to former Brazil international Rivellino's transfer to the club in 1978.^[383] Some media outlets criticised Neymar for choosing to not remain in a top European league and dubbed him as the 'Prince who never became King' due to leaving Europe without winning the Ballon d'Or.^[384][385] However, Neymar declared, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Saudi league is better than the French", in light of fellow star players joining the league, including Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.^[383]

2023–24: First matches before injury

Neymar celebrating his first and only goal for Al-Hilal in October 2023

On 15 September 2023, he made his club debut in Saudi Arabia during a 6–1 thrashing of Al-Riyadh, coming off the bench and providing an assist to a goal by fellow Brazilian, Malcom.^[386] That same year, on 3 October, Neymar scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 away win against Nassaji Mazandaran in an AFC Champions League group stage match.^[387] Having played five games for his new club, Neymar ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while on international duty in October 2023.^[388] In January 2024, Al-Hilal deregistered Neymar as a result of his season ending injury, in order to free up one of the eight foreign roster spots for Renan Lodi.^[389] Al-Hilal won the league title; despite Neymar playing just three games in the league, he collected his eighth career league title.^[390]

2024–25: Return from injury and termination of contract

Neymar returned to action on 21 October 2024 during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League match against Al Ain, marking his comeback after a lengthy absence.^[391] However, a few weeks later, he suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year.^[392] At the end of 2024, Neymar was named as one of three winners of the Player Career Award at the Globe Soccer Awards, alongside former England defender Rio Ferdinand and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.^[393] After receiving the award, Neymar posted his gratitude on social media to say his name is "written in football history" and he has more to give in the game.^[393]

On 17 January 2025, Neymar said in an interview that he was considering playing in Brazil again: "I always said I want to play for Flamengo because of everything that involves Flamengo, but Santos is my boyhood love, my home."^[394] Later in January, Neymar was not registered for the league competition during the second half of the 2024–25 season, in which Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus stated in the press room: "Neymar can no longer perform at the level we are used to. Things have become difficult for him, unfortunately".^[395] On 27 January 2025, the club announced an agreement for the termination of his contract by mutual consent.^[396] In a leaving message, Neymar said, "I gave it all to play, and I wish we could have enjoyed better moments together on the field".^[397]

Neymar totalled one goal and three assists in seven appearances for Al-Hilal;^[398] considering his transfer fee and wages, various media outlets debated whether Neymar's transfer to the club is the worst transfer in football history.^{[399][400][401]}

Return to Santos

On 30 January 2025, Neymar announced through his social media that he would be signing a contract with his first club Santos.^[402][403] The following day, Santos confirmed his return.^[404] One of the reasons for Neymar returning to Santos was to regain top form ahead of the 2026 World Cup.^[405] He started wearing the number 10 jersey, the number which Pelé had worn during his time spent between 1956 and 1974.^[406] Neymar made his re-debut for Peixe on 6 February 2025, coming on as a half-time substitute for Gabriel Bontempo in a 1–1 Campeonato Paulista home draw against Botafogo-SP.^[407] According to Reuters, "The Urbano Caldeira stadium erupted in celebration as jubilant and tearful fans lit up their mobile phones to give the striker, who left the club 12 years ago, a hero's welcome before kick-off."^[408] He received the Man of the Match award after the match.^[409]

He scored his first goal after returning ten days later, netting the opener in a 3–1 home win over Água Santa through a penalty; he also assisted Guilherme in the club's third goal, and a Man of the Match award.^[410] On 23 February 2025, Neymar scored directly from a corner kick and earned another Man of the Match.^[411][412] During his second stint at Santos, Neymar was proving that he can still make a difference, with his physical fitness experiencing an improvement compared to his time at Al-Hilal.^[413] He would make his Série A debut on 13 March, coming on as a substitute 1–0 loss against Fluminense. On 16 April 2025, Neymar wore the number 100 jersey for the match against Atlético Mineiro which resulted in a 2–0 win, landmarking his 100th match at the Vila Belmiro; he would feature in only 32 minutes during the match, however, and was subbed off after suffering an injury.^[414]

Neymar spent more than a month sidelined before returning in 2025 Copa do Brasil match against CRB in Maceió; coming on as a second-half substitute, he converted his penalty in the shoot-out, but his side was knocked out.^[415] Neymar also came on from the bench in a 1–0 away win over Vitória on 25 May 2025, before returning to the starting line-up seven days later in a match against Botafogo. Deployed as a false nine, he played for 76 minutes in the match before being sent off after handballing; Santos eventually lost the match 1–0, with the opponent's goal coming ten minutes after his ejection.^[416]

On 24 June 2025, Santos announced Neymar's contract renewal until the end of the year, with an option for a further six months.^[417] The club's president Marcelo Teixeira said that Neymar's return to Santos has led to record-breaking social media growth and significant commercial gains for the club. Upon announcing the contract renewal, Teixeira said, "Our idol, our boy, the prince with our number 10 shirt, remains."^[418] On his first match after the renewal, he scored the winner in a 1–0 home success over Flamengo on 16 July.^[419]

International career

2010–2012: Senior debut and first major tournaments

Neymar at a press conference for Brazil in August 2010. He made his senior debut that month aged 18.

Following Neymar's performances for Santos in their successful early 2010 season, including winning the 2010 Copa do Brasil, in which he was the top goalscorer, and the 2010 Campeonato Paulista, in which he scored 14 goals, former Brazilian football players Pelé and Romário reportedly urged coach Dunga to take Neymar to the 2010 World Cup.^[28] Although the opinion that Neymar deserved a place in Dunga's squad went as far as a 14,000 signature petition,^[28][420] and despite the pressure on Dunga to pick Neymar,^[421] he was omitted from both the squad of 23,^[422][423] and the stand-by list.^[424] Although Dunga described Neymar as "extremely talented", he said that the 18-year-old 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.^[425]

On 26 July 2010, Neymar was selected for the first time in the Brazil senior team by new head coach Mano Menezes for a friendly match against the United States to be played in East Rutherford, New Jersey. On 10 August 2010, he made his debut with the national team in that game, aged 18 years old, starting the match and wearing the number 11 jersey. He scored on his debut after 28 minutes, a header coming from an André Santos cross in a 2–0 win for Brazil.^[426] On 1 March 2011, Neymar said: "Being on the Brazilian team is a privilege. There are some marvelous players and I'm very happy to be among them."^[8]

Neymar celebrates his goal for Brazil against Scotland, on 27 March 2011, with André Santos and Ramires.

On 27 March 2011, he scored twice in a 2–0 win against Scotland at the Emirates Stadium.^[427] During the match against Scotland, a banana was thrown onto the pitch after he scored from the penalty spot, which led Neymar to complain about 'constant jeering and an atmosphere of racism', implying that Scottish fans exhibited racism.^[428][429] While Scottish officials explained that Neymar had been booed solely for perceived injury-feigning, a German student who was in the stadium amongst Brazil supporters said that he threw the banana with no racist intentions. This led to the Scottish Football Association asking the Brazilian Football Confederation for an apology for the accusations made to the Scottish fans.^[430][431] Neymar refused to apologise or retract his words, claiming he "did not accuse any person or any group of supporters".^[432][433]

Neymar was the leading goal scorer of the 2011 South American Youth Championship with nine goals, including two in the final, in Brazil's 6–0 win against Uruguay.^[434] He also took part at the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, where he scored two goals in the first-round game against Ecuador. He was selected 'Man of the Match' in Brazil's first match against Venezuela, which ended a 1–1 draw. Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals in a penalty shoot-out against Paraguay (2–2 a.e.t.), with Neymar being substituted in the 80th minute.^[435]

Neymar with Brazilian teammate Lucas Moura on international duty in 2012

By 20 years old, Neymar was viewed as the star player of the national team.^[436] On 11 May 2012, Neymar was selected for the squad of the Brazil Olympic football team to participate in the London 2012 Olympic Games.^[437] In Brazil's first warm-up match on 20 July 2012, against the host nation Great Britain at Riverside Stadium, Neymar was involved in both goals of a 2–0 win, first making an assist with a free-kick into the six-yard box for Sandro's header, before converting a penalty.^[438] On 26 July, he scored his first goal in Brazil's opening fixture against Egypt, which ended a 3–2 victory for Brazil.^[439] In the following match against Belarus at Old Trafford in Manchester, Neymar scored a free-kick from 25-yards into the top-right corner of the goal and set up goals for Alexandre Pato's header with a cross from the right and Oscar with a back heel as Brazil secured their place in the quarter-finals with a 3–1 win. Afterwards he said: "I scored and made two assists so for me it was perfect".^[440][441]

On 5 August 2012, in the quarter-final encounter against Honduras, Neymar scored a penalty, his third goal of the tournament and assisted in Leandro Damião's second goal on the match, to help Brazil to a 3–2 victory at St James' Park and book a place in the semi-finals.^[442] On 11 August, Brazil lost 2–1 to Mexico in the final at Wembley Stadium in London.^[443]

Neymar scored his first full international hat-trick on 10 September 2012, in an 8–0 win over China at the Estádio José do Rego Maciel in Recife.^[444] On 19 September, Neymar scored the winner against Argentina in a 2–1 win in the first leg of the 2012 Superclásico de las Américas at the Estádio Serra Dourada in Goiânia, Brazil.^[445]

2013–2014: Confederations Cup triumph and World Cup breakthrough

Neymar playing against Spain's Gerard Piqué in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Final

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 number 10 shirt, having previously worn 11.^[446]

Neymar scored the first goal of the tournament in a 3–0 win over Japan at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha on 15 June.^[447] In their second match, Neymar scored after nine minutes and crossed for Jô's late goal to give Brazil a 2–0 win over Mexico.^[448] He scored in his third consecutive match, with a powerful free kick from the edge of the penalty area, as Brazil beat Italy 4–2, and received his third consecutive man-of-the-match award.^[449][450] On 30 June, Neymar was involved in Fred's opening goal and then subsequently scored Brazil's second in the 3–0 final victory over Spain.^[451] Neymar's performances saw him receive the Golden Ball for player of the tournament.^[452] He also finished in 5th place for the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or.^[453]

On 5 March 2014, Neymar scored a hat-trick in a friendly win against South Africa in Johannesburg. He made headlines for his conduct after the final whistle when a South African boy ran onto the pitch. As security staff began to escort the boy from the field, Neymar intervened and introduced him to his Brazil teammates before they lifted him in the air during their celebrations.^[454][455]

Neymar prepares to take a free kick during Brazil's opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup against Croatia.

Neymar evading a tackle against Mexico at the 2014 World Cup

On 2 June, Neymar was named in the Brazil squad for the 2014 World Cup.^[456] Going into the tournament, as the team's star player Neymar was expected to lead Brazil to their sixth World Cup success, and first title on home soil.^{[457][458][459][460]} One week prior to the team's opening match, Neymar scored once and made two assists in a 4–0 friendly win over Panama.^[461]

Neymar earned his 50th international cap in the opening match of the tournament, on 12 June against Croatia in São Paulo. In the 26th minute, with Croatia leading 1–0, Neymar elbowed Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić, after which Neymar was issued a yellow card.^[462] Many critics agreed that Neymar's punishment was too lenient and that he should have been issued a red card.^{[463][464][465]} He equalised before half-time with a shot from outside the box and gave Brazil the lead in the second half with a penalty kick, following a controversial decision by the referee, in an eventual 3–1 win.^[466] In the third group match, he again scored twice as the Seleção defeated Cameroon 4–1 to reach the knockout stage.^[467] In the round of 16 against Chile, the match finished 1–1 after 120 minutes and was decided by a penalty shoot-out with Neymar scoring what proved to be the winning kick for Brazil.^[468]

In the quarter-final win over Colombia, while challenging for the ball, Neymar was kneed in the back by Juan Camilo Zúñiga and had to be removed from the pitch on a stretcher. A hospital scan revealed that Neymar had suffered a fractured vertebra in his spine and he missed the rest of the World Cup.^[469] Earlier in the match, Neymar assisted Thiago Silva's opening goal with a cross from a corner kick.^[470] It was the second Neymar assist from a corner in the tournament, after creating David Luiz's goal in the previous round against Chile.^[468] Without their injured talisman Neymar (and the suspended captain Thiago Silva), Brazil would ultimately lose in the semi-final in a stunning 7–1 defeat to eventual champion Germany on 8 July.^[471]

On 11 July, Neymar was named on the 10-man shortlist for FIFA's Golden Ball award for the tournament's best player.^[472] He won the Bronze Boot as the tournament's third top goalscorer and was named in the World Cup All Star XI.^[473]

2015–2016: Assuming the captaincy and Olympic gold

With captain Thiago Silva ruled out through injury, new coach Dunga decided to make Neymar captain and confirmed on 5 September that the forward would stay on as skipper on a permanent basis.^[474] On 14 October 2014, Neymar scored four goals in one game for the first time in his international career, scoring all of Brazil's goals in 4–0 friendly win against Japan at the National Stadium, Singapore.^[475] At the age of just 22 years, Neymar had scored 40 goals in 58 internationals, and had become the fifth highest goalscorer for his national team.^[475][476] On 26 March 2015, Neymar scored Brazil's second goal in a 3–1 friendly win over France in Paris.^[477]

On 14 June 2015, in Brazil's opening Copa América fixture, Neymar scored the equaliser and assisted the stoppage-time winning goal by Douglas Costa as Brazil came from 0–1 down to beat Peru 2–1 in Temuco.^[478] After Brazil's second match, a 0–1 loss to Colombia in Santiago, Neymar was booked for handball, resulting in a suspension. After the final whistle, he was red carded for deliberately kicking the ball at Pablo Armero, and as a result was pushed over by Colombian striker Carlos Bacca, who was also dismissed.^[479] CONMEBOL issued Neymar with a four-match ban, ruling him out for the remainder of the tournament, in addition to a $10,000 fine.^[480]

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.^[481] 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.^[482][483]

Neymar preparing to strike the winning penalty kick for Brazil against Germany in the Olympic final

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.^[484] 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.^[485]

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.^[486][487] 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.^[488] Neymar subsequently renounced the captaincy following their Olympic victory.^[489]

2018: World Cup disappointment

Neymar during the national anthem of Brazil at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Neymar was rushed back prior to the 2018 World Cup in Russia following his injury in February with PSG.^[208] In May 2018, he was named in Tite's final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.^[490] On 3 June 2018, he made his international comeback after a three-month absence from a foot injury and scored a goal in a 2–0 win over Croatia in a friendly match at Anfield.^[491] His playing style was not quite the same as he appeared to be avoiding physical contact entirely rather than simply trying to draw fouls.^[208] The following week, he became Brazil's joint-third highest goalscorer alongside Romário when he scored his 55th international goal in a 3–0 friendly win over Austria.^[492] In Brazil's second World Cup match, played against Costa Rica at the Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, on 22 June, Neymar scored the team's second goal in injury time as Brazil won 2–0.^[493] The goal, his 56th for Brazil, took him third in the all-time scoring chart behind only Pelé and Ronaldo.^[494]

On 2 July, Neymar scored his second goal of the World Cup in a 2–0 win over Mexico in the last 16, while also assisting Roberto Firmino for his goal.^[495] After the Mexico game, BBC Sport wrote that despite Neymar's "good performances" coming up top in several statistics at the World Cup, "there is still a sense that he remains widely unpopular among neutrals" due to his "petulance and the play-acting". Meanwhile, Brazilian newspaper O Globo wrote that "Neymar has charmed Brazil, but annoyed the whole world".^[496] On 6 July, Brazil were eliminated after losing 2–1 against Belgium in the quarter-finals, with Neymar denied an injury time equaliser by a finger-tip save from Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.^[497]

2019–2021: Copa América runner-up

In May 2019, Neymar was included in Brazil's 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América on home soil.^[498] On 5 June, however, he suffered an ankle injury in a 2–0 friendly win over Qatar and was ruled out of the tournament, with Neymar expected to miss four weeks due to the injury.^[499][500]

On 10 October 2019, Neymar played his 100th match for Brazil in a friendly draw 1–1 with Senegal in Singapore.^[501] On 13 October 2020, he scored a hat-trick in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Peru, which Brazil won 4–2. He reached his 64th international goal and surpassed Ronaldo as the nation's second highest goalscorer of all time.^[502]

On 13 June 2021, in Brazil's opening group match of the 2021 Copa América, which took place on home soil, Neymar scored his team's second goal from the penalty spot and later assisted another for Gabriel Barbosa in a 3–0 win over Venezuela.^[503] In the following match on 17 June, he once again scored the second goal in an eventual 4–0 win over Peru.^[504] On 23 June he assisted Casemiro's match–winning goal from a corner in injury time of a 2–1 win over Colombia.^[505] On 2 July, he assisted Lucas Paquetá's goal in a 1–0 win over Chile in the quarter-finals of the competition.^[506] Three days later, he once again assisted Paquetá for the only goal of the match in the semi-finals against Peru.^[507] On 10 July, Brazil were defeated 1–0 by Argentina in the final.^[508] Despite the loss, Neymar was named the player of the tournament alongside Argentina's Messi for his performances throughout the competition.^[509][510]

On 9 September 2021, Neymar scored the second goal in a 2–0 win over Peru and became Brazil's all-time top scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification matches, with 12 in total.^[511]

2022–present: World Cup and Brazil's all-time top scorer

Neymar playing against Serbia in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup

On 7 November 2022, Neymar was named in the Brazil squad for the 2022 World Cup.^[512] Heading into the World Cup, Neymar was arguably in the best form of his career during the 2022–23 season, scoring 15 goals and providing 11 assists in just 20 games.^{[513][514][515][516]} According to Maram Albaharna and several other sports journalists, he was a large part of the reason why Brazil were favourites to win the World Cup.^{[517][518][513]} The 2022 World Cup was touted to potentially be Neymar's crowning moment for his career.^[519] Neymar, alongside Messi and Mbappé, was widely favourite to win the Golden Ball.^[520][521]

Neymar played 79 minutes of Brazil's first match on 24 November and assisted the opening goal^[522] in a 2–0 win against Serbia, but was unable to play the next two group games due to ankle ligament damage.^[523] Neymar recovered from his injury to play against South Korea in the last 16 on 5 December, where he assisted Vinícius Júnior's opening goal and scored a penalty in a 4–1 win for Brazil;^[524] as a result, he became only the third Brazilian player ever, after Pelé and Ronaldo, to score in three different World Cups.^[525]

'Keep inspiring us. I will keep punching the air with joy for every goal you score'

— Pelé congratulates Neymar on equalling his record of 77 official international goals.^[526]

Four days later, in the quarter-final match against Croatia, Neymar lit the match up in extra time with a "magical" run before scoring; he played two one-twos with his teammates before quickly finding himself in the box and going past the goalkeeper to score into the empty net.^[527] Journalist Michael Cox described it as one of the "greatest individual goals in football history".^[528] It was Neymar's 77th international goal, which equalled Pelé's official goal tally for the national team.^[528] Brazil, however, suffered a shock defeat, losing 4–2 in the ensuing penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw after extra time, before Neymar was able to take Brazil's final penalty.^[525][529] Neymar was distraught on the pitch; overwhelmed with emotion, he hinted that it could be his last game for Brazil.^[530] In a later social media post, he said that the defeat to Croatia "psychologically destroyed" him and that it was the defeat that had affected him the most in his career, causing him to be "paralysed" for 10 minutes after the match.^[531]

On 8 September 2023, Neymar scored twice for Brazil in a 5–1 win over Bolivia in their opening match for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. His 78th and 79th goals in his 125th appearance for Brazil, Neymar became the national team's top goalscorer ahead of Pelé.^[532][533] Mimicking Pelé's punch in the air goal celebration with the first of his two goals, Neymar stated after the game that he never imagined he would reach the record.^[533][534] Brazil coach Fernando Diniz declared that Neymar is one of the greatest players in history following this achievement.^[535] His 79 goals for Brazil also makes him the second-highest South American men's goal scorer. A month later, he tied former American player Landon Donovan on achieving a record 58 assists in international football; in the 50th minute of Brazil's World Cup qualifier against Venezuela, his corner kick was headed in by defender Gabriel.^[536]

On 17 October, in Brazil's 2–0 qualifying defeat to Uruguay, Neymar was taken off in tears on a stretcher at the end of the first half, following an awkward landing after a challenge. Neymar would confirm later that week that he had ruptured his ACL and meniscus completely in his left knee and would need to undergo surgery, likely ruling him out for the remainder of the 2023–24 campaign;^[388] consequently, he was left out of Brazil's squad for the 2024 Copa América.^[537]

On 2 March 2025, Neymar was named in the 29 men in the preliminary squad for the national team.^[538]

Player profile

Style of play

Primarily playing as an attacking midfielder or winger, Neymar is prolific in scoring and has high-level playmaking abilities.^[539] He has scored over 400 goals and has registered over 300 assists.^{[540][541][542]} At the start of his career, he would solely play as a left winger for both club and country in the team's 4–3–3 formation due to his pace and playmaking skills;^[543] this position allowed him to shoot with his stronger foot and create chances for teammates.^[544] His main traits are his vision, passing, finishing, dribbling, feints, and first touch, being described as both "electric" and "explosive".^{[545][546][547]} He is also known for often using the rainbow flick.^[548] His playing style has often made him a target for rough treatment from defenders.^[549] During his time in Ligue 1, he was fouled more than any other player, which caused frequent injuries.^[549] Neymar is two-footed and can score free-kicks and penalties.^[544][550]

Considered to be a highly promising player in his youth,^[551] Neymar was described early in his career by the media as "a true phenomenon".^[552][544] At Santos, he was renowned for his explosive pace and flair, often beating defenders with ease and showcasing excessive skill moves—frequently bordering on showboating.^[543] At Barcelona, he became more efficient in providing and more refined, improving his passing and overall decision-making.^[553] After joining PSG, he evolved into a complete number 10, capable of dictating play and executing highly difficult passes.^[554] Reflecting on his years at PSG, Neymar said that he experienced his prime years as a footballer at the club.^[555][556]

According to Westwood of Goal, "[Neymar] is a master dribbler, and he sees openings that other players don't. He can create chances out of nothing and more often than not, has the finishing touch or decisive final pass to match his ingenuity on the ball."^[557] In similar observation, Bobby Ghosh of Time magazine details Neymar's style of play: "In an era of pass-and-move, Neymar is not afraid to keep the ball, dribble and weave past his opponents rather than simply figure out the most effective way of moving it forward."^[558] Former Santos player Lima, of the Os Santásticos era, claimed that "Neymar has something that even Pelé doesn’t, the speed of his feet and the way he can move the ball."^[559]

Reception

Throughout his career, Neymar's talent often led him to be depended on for Brazil's success.^[560]

During his time in Europe, Neymar was generally viewed as the third-best player in the world, behind Messi and Ronaldo.^{[561][562][563][564][565][566][163]} At various points in his career, he was argued by some to be the best player in the world.^{[567][138][568][569][570]} Lawrence Ostlere of The Independent opinionated that Messi was the only player superior in "every facet of the game" than Neymar during his 10-year tenure in Europe.^[571] Neymar is widely regarded as the best Brazilian player of his generation;^{[572][573][574]} the term Neymardependencia (Neymar dependency) is often used in Brazil to refer to the extent to which the national team relies on him to guide their success.^{[575][576][577]} In Brazil, he is often referred to as O Príncipe ("The Prince"), a title that reflects a symbolic parallel to Pelé, who is widely known as O Rei ("The King").^{[578][579][580][581][582]}

In light of surpassing Pelé to become Brazil's all-time top goalscorer, Cox of The Athletic asserted that Neymar is one of the best players football has ever seen.^[583] Scott Wilson of Goal praised Neymar as a modern-day great,^[584] whilst another sports writer for Goal claimed that at Neymar's best form, there are a few players better than him, crediting him as among the most talented players ever.^[585] In the view of GiveMeSport, highlighting the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo, he might be considered the best Brazilian player of all time if he shone in another era.^[586] In 2019, he was named the best Brazilian player since Pelé by the Brazilian monthly sports magazine Placar.^[587]

Neymar has drawn high praise from current and former players, including Son Heung-min—who described him as the best player in the world in 2022.^{[588][589][590][591][592]} Liverpool player Harvey Elliott said that Neymar is "one of the best to ever play the game".^[593] Former France international Christophe Dugarry said that he is "one of the three greatest players, in terms of intrinsic qualities."^[594] Another former player, Luis García, praised him as "one of the best players we have ever seen".^[595] Ronaldo (Brazilian) included Neymar in his personal top 10 greatest players of all time.^[596] Former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon chose Neymar as the best player he has ever played with or played against.^[597] Many players have cited Neymar as the toughest opponent they have faced in their career; this includes Kyle Walker, João Cancelo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Dani Carvajal, and Rodrigo De Paul.^{[598][599][600][601][602][590]} Despite still being in his early 30s, many players of the new era of football have singled out Neymar's influence. This includes Jadon Sancho,^[603] Vinícius Júnior,^[604] Mbappé,^[605] Rodrygo,^[606] Jamal Musiala,^[593] Harvey Elliott,^[593] Xavi Simons,^[607] Lamine Yamal,^[608] Désiré Doué,^[609] and Nico Williams.^[610]

Criticisms

"And so, circus Neymar arrived in Dortmund. The Brazilian's moods, histrionics, petulance, and goalscoring prowess were on view in every fascinating and exasperating detail."

—Forbes on some of the traits associated with Neymar following a Champions League game for PSG against Borussia Dortmund, February 2020.^[611]

Neymar has been known and criticised for his excessive diving^{[612][613][614][615]} when tackled by another player. Brazilian legend Pelé has said, "[h]e 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".^[616] During the 2018 World Cup, Neymar inspired on the "Neymar Challenge" on social media due to his dramatic dives.^[617][618] As the star player for Brazil and PSG, he was often the most targeted player on the field; in 2018, he was the most fouled player in the top five leagues.^[619] A divisive figure in the sport, he has been accused of exaggerating injury, with Eric Cantona stating Neymar is a "great actor", comparing him to a wheeled suitcase: "you barely touch it, and it turns round and round for hours."^[620][621] In response to the criticism over his petulance and histrionics, Neymar starred in a commercial after the 2018 World Cup where he said that he wasn't able to control his frustrations, which contributed to his theatrics, and he promised to change for the better.^[622]

From 2018 onwards, injuries and controversies blighted Neymar's career.^[623]

Neymar has also been criticised for his lack of professional discipline, with his desire to party and play late-night poker games. In 2018, Pelé criticised Neymar: "It's difficult to defend Neymar for all the things he does besides playing football. I've been with him in Europe twice. We talked and I explained: 'The God of football gave you the gift. What you do complicates it'."^[557] In February 2023, the day after PSG lost to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, images of Neymar in a fast-food restaurant surfaced on social media. Neymar defended himself, saying "It's my life, I do what I want."^[367]

In 2023, following his departure from Europe to Saudi Arabia at a young age (31) without winning the Ballon d'Or, various media outlets dubbed Neymar as the 'Prince who never became King'.^{[384][385][624]} Early in his career, particularly after his stellar 2014–15 season with Barcelona at 23 years old, he was unanimously expected to win the Ballon d'Or at some point in his career.^{[625][626][627]} He has been nominated for the Ballon d'Or nine times, which is more than any other Brazilian player in history, and has finished in the top 10 six times—only Zidane, Thierry Henry, Messi and Ronaldo have more.^[326] Sports Illustrated claimed that he could end his career as the best player never to win a Ballon d'Or, joining the likes of Henry and Iniesta.^[628] Buffon opinionated that Neymar should have won at least five Ballon d'Ors.^[597] Jonathan Wilson of Sports Illustrated gives the view that, "The early hype [around Neymar] was absurd, and if he has not lived up to it, it is largely because nobody could have."^[629] In a 2025 interview, Neymar responded to the claims that he did not reach the heights expected of him: "Many things happened, I had many injuries that cost me a lot in my career".^[630] In spite of this, he expressed, "I achieved almost everything I dreamed of, and I even achieved things I never dreamed of."^[630]

Personal life

Neymar expresses his Christian faith after winning the gold medal with Brazil at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Neymar has a very close sibling relationship with his sister Rafaella Beckran. He honoured Beckran by tattooing her face on his arm while she tattooed her brother's eyes on her arm.^[631] Neymar is the father of one son and three daughters, two of whom with his current partner.^[632][633]

Neymar is a Christian^[5][6] and follows the Pentecostal branch of the religion.^[634] Neymar has said about his faith: "Life only makes sense when our highest ideal is to serve Christ!"^[635] Additionally, he has worn a headband with the words "100% Jesus".^[636] Neymar also tithes some of his income to his church and has named Kaká as his religious role model.^[637] Every year, Neymar organises a charity match with fellow Brazilian footballer Nenê in Nenê's hometown of Jundiaí, with the purpose of raising food for poor families.^[638] In addition to his native Portuguese, Neymar also speaks Spanish.^[639][640]

In July 2019, police announced that a rape investigation against Neymar would be dropped due to insufficient evidence.^[641] On 2 September 2020, it was reported that Neymar, along with PSG teammates Ángel Di María and Leandro Paredes, tested positive for COVID-19. The French sports newspaper L'Équipe said that the three players reportedly went on vacation in Ibiza. As a result, they were quarantined for one week, and the rest of the players and working staff were scheduled to take a coronavirus test within the same week.^[642][643]

Neymar and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. He supported Bolsonaro in the 2022 Brazilian general election.^[644]

During a match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille, Neymar reported being racially abused by Álvaro González, after being sent off for hitting González in the back of the head.^[645] The Spanish defender denied making any racist comments towards Neymar.^[646] On 16 September, Neymar was handed a two-match ban for his actions; Ligue 1 also began an investigation into the alleged racist comments made by Álvaro.^[647] Several days before the decision made by the French league, Spanish radio station Cadena SER claimed to have footage of Neymar racially abusing OM player Hiroki Sakai.^[648] On 30 September, Ligue 1 decided that both Álvaro and Neymar would receive no suspensions as there was insufficient evidence of their wrongdoings.^[649] Additionally, Sakai denied any racist comments from Neymar on social media.^[650]

Neymar supported Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 Brazilian general election.^[644]

In the summer of 2023, Agence France-Presse, citing local authorities, reported that Neymar faced a potential fine of about $1 million for environmental violations committed during the construction of his Mangaratiba mansion. The process of building his mansion diverted the waterway and used beach sand without permission.^[651]

Outside football

Wealth and sponsorships

Neymar has signed many sponsorships since his reputation began to grow from the age of 17. In March 2011, he signed an 11-year contract with American sportswear company Nike,^[652] which ended in August 2020 after a Nike employee made a sexual assault complaint against him.^[653][654] Since then, Neymar has signed with Puma.^[655] He adopted the famous PUMA King boots, previously worn by the likes of Pelé, Maradona, Johan Cruyff, and Eusébio.^[656] Neymar's deal with Puma was considered the highest-value individual football boot contract ever, with him earning around €25 million per year, surpassing deals held by the likes of Ronaldo and Messi.^[657] In March 2011, Panasonic paid US$2.4 million to secure Neymar's services for two years. In 2012, France Football had ranked Neymar 13th in its list of the world's richest players, with total earnings of $18.8 million for the previous 12 months.^[658] He has also signed other sponsorships from Volkswagen, Tenys Pé Baruel, Lupo, Ambev, Claro, Unilever, and Santander.^{[659][660][661][662]}

In 2019, Forbes ranked Neymar the world's third-highest-paid athlete (after Messi and Ronaldo) with earnings of $105 million for the year;^[663] he was also ranked fourth in 2020 ($95.5 million) and 2021 ($95 million), seventh in 2024 ($108 million), twelfth in 2023 ($85 million) and 25th in 2025 ($76 million).^{[664][665][666][667][668]} Sportico named him the fourth highest-paid athlete of 2022 and put him at sixth place in 2021, 2023 and 2024.^{[669][670][671][672]} In 2018, France Football ranked Neymar the third-highest-paid footballer in the world, earning a total income for €81.5m ($95m) for the year.^[673]

On 8 May 2013, Neymar was named by SportsPro magazine as the most marketable athlete in the world, ahead of Messi (2nd) and Ronaldo (8th).^[674] The same month, Neymar launched the Nike Hypervenom football boot.^[675] In November 2012, advertising agency Loducca created Neymar's own personal brand logo,^[676] featuring the N, J, and R (Neymar Junior) with the N styled to match Neymar's shirt number 11.^[676] Neymar starred in a 2014 advert for Beats alongside other football stars such as Henry and Suárez, with the theme of 'The Game Before The Game' and the players pre-game ritual of listening to music.^[677] In 2018, Neymar was highly influential to PSG’s groundbreaking partnership with Air Jordan. In June 2016, he became the first footballer ever to wear Air Jordan-branded boots—a custom Air Jordan V Hypervenom—establishing an early and personal connection with Air Jordan.^[678] That relationship set the stage for the 2018 PSG × Air Jordan launch.^[679] Neymar himself described Air Jordan as "phenomenal, magic, irreverent," calling it a perfect fit for both Paris and the Champions League.^[679][680]

In the later stages of his career, Neymar has been regularly seen playing high limit poker, including live streamed celebrity games from California's Hustler Casino.^[681][682] In 2025, boxer Conor Benn called out his rival boxer Chris Eubank Jr. at a pre-fight press conference, alleging Eubank Jr. owed Neymar £4 million in poker debts.^[683]

Media

Neymar at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey during a match between New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy in 2011

Neymar was featured on the front covers of the video games Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 on the North American version, after Konami Digital Entertainment announced that he had joined Pro Evolution Soccer.^[684] Neymar joined Ronaldo as a featured cover athlete.^[685][686] Neymar also features in EA Sports' FIFA video game series, with the trailer for FIFA 18 showing him in his PSG home jersey.^[687] He appeared alongside Ronaldo on the Champions and Ultimate Edition packs for FIFA 19, where Neymar's "Hang Loose" goal celebration also features in the game.^[688][689] Neymar also appears as a playable operator in the 2022 first-person shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II alongside fellow football players Paul Pogba and Messi,^[690] whose character models were released as downloadable content to coincide with the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[691]

Neymar appeared on the cover of Time magazine in February 2013, the first Brazilian athlete to do so. The issue included an article by Ghosh entitled "The Next Pelé" and subtitled "How the career of Brazilian football star Neymar explains his country's economy".^[692]

Controversy erupted because of a cover by Brazilian football magazine Placar that depicted Neymar on a cross. The title read "A Crucificação de Neymar" (the Crucifixion of Neymar) and subtitled: "the Brazilian ace turns scapegoat in a sport where everyone plays dirty".^[693]

In April 2013, Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa released a Monica's Gang comic book featuring a younger version of Neymar (called Neymar Jr.) as the main character.^[694]

In May 2013, SportsPro magazine named Neymar as the most marketable athlete on the planet for the second consecutive year. He topped the list ahead of Lionel Messi, Rory McIlroy, Usain Bolt and Ronaldo, among other sportspeople.^[695] The list measures the monetary value, the age, the force in domestic markets, the charisma and their market potential in the next three years.^[695] In March 2015, Neymar had the fourth highest social media rank in the world among sportspeople, behind Ronaldo, Messi and David Beckham, with 52 million Facebook fans.^[696][697] He has over 200 million Instagram followers, the third highest for a sportsperson (after Ronaldo and Messi), and inside the top 20 most followed people.^[698] In ESPN's list of active sportspeople in 2016, Neymar was ranked the fourth most famous athlete in the world.^[699] In April 2017, Neymar was included in the Time 100, Time magazine's list of the most influential people in the world.^[700] In 2019, ESPN again ranked him the world's fourth most famous athlete.^[701]

To mark the World Cup commencing in Brazil, in June 2014, Neymar appeared with supermodel Gisele Bündchen on the front cover of Vogue's Brazilian edition.^[702] In November 2014, Neymar appeared in FIFA's "11 against Ebola" campaign with a selection of top football players from around the world, including Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Xavi and Didier Drogba.^[703] Under the slogan "Together, we can beat Ebola", FIFA's campaign was done in conjunction with the Confederation of African Football and health experts, with the players holding up eleven messages to raise awareness of the disease and ways to combat it.^[703][704]

In collaboration with DAZN, in 2019 Neymar appeared in The Making Of series, documentaries which relives the significant games that helped define football's greatest modern icons, with Neymar recounting his performance for Santos against Flamengo in 2011 when he scored that year's FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year,^[705] and also the film Neymar and the Line of King which covers Neymar's journey in becoming one of Brazil's top players.^[706][707]

In December 2021, he signed a deal with Facebook Gaming.^[708] He was also the subject of a 2022 Netflix documentary series titled Neymar: The Perfect Chaos.^[709]

In June 2024, Neymar Jr. was appointed brand ambassador for Blaze's exclusive "crash" online gaming product, promoting the sports betting platform's new multiplier‐based wager.^[710]

Political views

In the days leading up to the 2022 Brazilian presidential election, Neymar appeared in a TikTok video where he lip-synced a campaign jingle promoting the country's right-wing and socially conservative President Jair Bolsonaro.^[711][712] He received heavy criticism for his endorsement.^[713] Bolsonaro was defeated in the election by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Music

Neymar has become an icon in promoting Brazilian modern pop music, particularly Música sertaneja. The video in which Neymar dances in the Santos locker room in front of teammates carrying his recorder making the round of the players and making them react to the tune of Michel Teló's hit "Ai se eu te pego!" went viral. He made a point of performing his dance antics to the song after scoring goals in football games and appeared live with Teló in one of the latter's concerts. He also supported sertanejo singer Gusttavo Lima performing live with Lima on renditions of the singer's hits "Balada" and "Fazer Beber". In 2012, he made cameo appearances in the music video for yet another sertanejo hit "Eu Quero Tchu, Eu Quero Tcha" by João Lucas & Marcelo. In 2013, Neymar appeared on a rap music video, "País do Futebol" by MC Guimê.^[714]

Television and films

Year	Title	Role	Note(s)	Type
2010	Malhação	Himself	TV Globo	TV
2012	(fdp)	Encanador	—	TV series (TV)
2013	Carrossel	Himself	SBT	TV
2017	Os Parças	Himself	—	Full-length film (FL)
2017	XXX: Return of Xander Cage	Himself	—	FL
2019	Money Heist	Monje Joao	—	TV
2019	The Making of	Himself	DAZN presents	TV
2021	Neymar Jr. and the line of kings	Himself	DAZN presents	TV
2022	Neymar: The Perfect Chaos	Himself	Netflix	Docuseries

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 July 2025^[715][716]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State league[a]		National cup[b]		League cup[c]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Santos	2009	Série A	33	10	12	3	3	1	—		—		—		48	14
	2010	Série A	31	17	19	14	8	11	—		2[d]	0	—		60	42
	2011	Série A	21	13	11	4	—		—		13[e]	6	2[f]	1	47	24
	2012	Série A	17	14	16	20	—		—		12[e]	8	2[g]	1	47	43
	2013	Série A	1	0	18	12	4	1	—		—		—		23	13
	Total		103	54	76	53	15	13	0	0	27	14	4	2	225	136
Barcelona	2013–14	La Liga	26	9	—		3	1	—		10[h]	4	2[i]	1	41	15
	2014–15	La Liga	33	22	—		6	7	—		12[h]	10	—		51	39
	2015–16	La Liga	34	24	—		5	4	—		9[h]	3	1[f]	0	49	31
	2016–17	La Liga	30	13	—		6	3	—		9[h]	4	0	0	45	20
	Total		123	68	0	0	20	15	0	0	40	21	3	1	186	105
Paris Saint-Germain	2017–18	Ligue 1	20	19	—		1	2	2	1	7[h]	6	—		30	28
	2018–19	Ligue 1	17	15	—		3	2	1	1	6[h]	5	1[j]	0	28	23
	2019–20	Ligue 1	15	13	—		2	2	3	1	7[h]	3	—		27	19
	2020–21	Ligue 1	18	9	—		3	1	—		9[h]	6	1[j]	1	31	17
	2021–22	Ligue 1	22	13	—		0	0	—		6[h]	0	0	0	28	13
	2022–23	Ligue 1	20	13	—		2	1	—		6[h]	2	1[j]	2	29	18
	Total		112	82	0	0	11	8	6	3	41	22	3	3	173	118
Al-Hilal	2023–24	Saudi Pro League	3	0	—		0	0	—		2[k]	1	0	0	5	1
	2024–25	Saudi Pro League	0	0	—		0	0	—		2[k]	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	7	1
Santos	2025	Série A	8	1	7	3	1	0	—		—		—		16	4
Career total			349	205	83	57	47	36	6	3	112	58	10	6	607	364

1. Includes Campeonato Paulista
2. Includes Copa do Brasil, Copa del Rey, Coupe de France
3. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
4. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
5. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
6. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
7. Appearances in Recopa Sudamericana
8. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
9. Appearances in Supercopa de España
10. Appearance in Trophée des Champions
11. Appearances in AFC Champions League

International

See also: List of international goals scored by Neymar

As of match played 17 October 2023^[717]

National team	Year	Competitive		Friendly		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2010	0	0	2	1	2	1
	2011	4[a]	2	9	5	13	7
	2012	0	0	12	9	12	9
	2013	5[b]	4	14	6	19	10
	2014	5[c]	4	9	11	14	15
	2015	4[d]	1	5	3	9	4
	2016	6[e]	4	0	0	6	4
	2017	6[e]	2	2	1	8	3
	2018	5[f]	2	8	5	13	7
	2019	0	0	5	1	5	1
	2020	2[g]	3	0	0	2	3
	2021	13[h]	6	0	0	13	6
	2022	4[i]	3	4	4	8	7
	2023	4[j]	2	0	0	4	2
Total		58	33	70	46	128	79

1. Appearances in 2011 Copa América
2. Appearances in 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
3. Appearances in 2014 FIFA World Cup
4. Two appearances and one goal in 2015 Copa América, two appearances in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5. Appearance(s) in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
6. Appearances in 2018 FIFA World Cup
7. Appearance(s) in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
8. Six appearances and two goals in 2021 Copa América, seven appearances and three goals in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
9. One appearance and one goal in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, three appearances and two goals in 2022 FIFA World Cup
10. Four appearances and two goals in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Santos^[718]

• Copa do Brasil: 2010
• Campeonato Paulista: 2010, 2011, 2012
• Copa Libertadores: 2011
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2012
• FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2011

Barcelona^[718]

• La Liga: 2014–15, 2015–16
• Copa del Rey: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17; runner-up: 2013–14
• Supercopa de España: 2013
• UEFA Champions League: 2014–15
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2015

Paris Saint-Germain

• Ligue 1: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23
• Coupe de France: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21; runner-up: 2018–19
• Coupe de la Ligue: 2017–18, 2019–20
• Trophée des Champions: 2018, 2020, 2022
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2019–20

Al-Hilal

• Saudi Pro League: 2023–24^[390]

Brazil

• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2013^[451]
• Copa América runner-up: 2021

Brazil Olympic

• Summer Olympics gold medal: 2016
• Summer Olympics silver medal: 2012^[719]

Brazil U20^[718]

• South American U-20 Championship: 2011

Individual

Neymar with the Golden Ball award for best player at the 2013 Confederations Cup

Awards

• FIFA Ballon d'Or/Ballon d'Or 3rd place: 2015, 2017
• FIFA The Best Men's Player 3rd place: 2017^[720]
• FIFA Puskás Award: 2011
• FIFA FIFPRO World 11: 2015,^[721] 2017^[722]
• IFFHS Men's World Team: 2017^[723]
• ESM Team of the Year: 2017–18^[250]
• UEFA Forward of the Season 3rd place: 2019–20
• UEFA Champions League top scorer: 2014–15 ^{(tied with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi)}
• UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2015–16, 2016–17^[724]
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2015,^[725] 2020^[726]
• UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2014–15,^[727] 2019–20,^[728] 2020–21^[729]
• FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball: 2011
• FIFA Club World Cup top assist provider: 2015^[730]
• FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot: 2014
• FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2014
• FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 2013
• FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe: 2013
• FIFA Confederations Cup Dream Team: 2013
• Copa América Best Player: 2021^{(joint with Messi)}
• Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2021^[731]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year: 2017–18^[732]
• Ligue 1 top assist provider: 2017–18^[249]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2017–18,^[251] 2018–19,^[269] 2020–21^[323]
• La Liga Best American Player: 2014–15^[733]
• Copa del Rey top scorer: 2014–15^[734]
• Copa Libertadores Best Player: 2011^[735]
• Copa Libertadores top scorer: 2012 ^{(tied with Matías Alustiza)}
• South American Footballer of the Year: 2011, 2012
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Player: 2011^[736]
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012^{[737][736][738]}
• Copa do Brasil top scorer: 2010
• Campeonato Paulista top scorer: 2012
• IFFHS World’s Best Player of the Decade 4th place: 2011–2020^[327]
• IFFHS CONMEBOL The Best Man Player of the Decade 2nd place: 2011–2020^[327]
• IFFHS CONMEBOL Team of the Decade: 2011–2020^[739]
• Globe Soccer Player Career Award: 2024^[740]
• Chuteira de Ouro: 2010, 2011, 2012
• Bola de Prata: 2010, 2011
• Bola de Ouro: 2011
• Troféu Mesa Redonda Best Player: 2011,^[741] 2012^[742]
• World Soccer Young Player of the Year: 2011
• Bola de Ouro Hors Concours: 2012
• Samba Gold: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022^{[743][744][745][746]}
• La Liga Player of the Month: November 2015^[747]
• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: January 2020,^[748] August 2022^[345]
• South American U-20 Championship top scorer: 2011

Records

• Brazil's all-time top scorer (79)
• Brazil's all-time top scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification matches (14)^[511]
• Youngest player to reach 100 caps for the Brazil national team (27 years and 28 days)^[501]
• All-time top assist provider in international football (59)^[749]
• Top assist provider across the year (28 in 2016, 27 in 2017)^{(tied with Messi in 2016 and Hulk in 2017)[750]}
• Only player to score in both a Copa Libertadores final and a Champions League final
• Only player to score 20 goals in the Champions League with two different clubs (Barcelona and PSG)^[311]
• Highest-scoring Brazilian player in the Champions League (43)
• Most assists in a single Champions League match (4 vs Celtic in 2016–17)
• Only player to score in three consecutive Copa del Rey finals (2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17)^{(tied with Ferenc Puskás)}
• Fastest player in Ligue 1 history to reach 50 goals (58 matches)
• Most goal involvements in a single Ligue 1 match (6 vs Dijon in 2017–18)^{(since Opta records began in 2003–04)}

See also

• Association football portal
• Brazil portal

• List of top international men's football goalscorers by country
• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
• List of most expensive association football transfers

Notes

1. Numerous sources, including top sports organisations and professional players, support this. See "Player profile" section for more.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were also the top goal scorers of the Champions League campaign, with all three each scoring 10 goals.
3. Although Barcelona did not classify Neymar's €222 million buyout clause as a transfer fee, it was functionally identical to a transfer fee, since it cancelled his then-current contract with Barcelona (as in a typical transfer). The payment, provided by an unknown source, made him the most expensive football player.^[3][4]