- Born:
- February 5, 1992, Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil (age 34)
- Awards And Honors:
- UEFA Champions League (2015)
Neymar
Who is Neymar?
What are Neymar’s major achievements?
Which football clubs has Neymar played for?
News •
Neymar (born February 5, 1992, Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil) is a Brazilian football (soccer) player who has scored 79 goals in 128 international appearances to surpass his compatriot and football legend Pelé’s record (77 goals) and become the leading goal scorer in men’s football for Brazil. Regarded as one of the world’s best modern footballers, Neymar is an exponent of jogo bonito (Portuguese: “the beautiful game”), a style of play closely associated with Brazilian football that emphasizes individual artistry combined with innovative team play. He has represented the Brazilian national team in four FIFA World Cups (2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026) and has played for the football clubs Santos FC (Brazil; 2009–13), FC Barcelona (Spain; 2013–17), Paris Saint-Germain FC (France; 2017–23), and Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia; August 2023–January 2025). In 2025 he returned to Santos.
Early life and career
Neymar began playing football as a boy in São Vicente, Brazil, under the guidance of his father, Neymar Santos, Sr., a former professional footballer who has remained a close adviser and mentor throughout his son’s career. Having played street and indoor five-a-side football, Neymar joined Portuguesa Santista’s youth team in São Vicente, and in 2003 he and his family moved to Santos, Brazil. Neymar, already an impressive player, joined the youth academy of Santos FC (the same club for which Brazilian football legend Pelé starred over most of his domestic career). At age 14 Neymar had a successful trial with Spain’s Real Madrid, and Santos had to increase its spending to retain him.
Neymar made his first team debut with Santos in 2009. He was confident on the field and known for his body control, quick reflexes, and speed. He helped the team win the Libertadores Cup (the most prestigious South American club competition) in 2011. The same year he won the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year for a solo goal, praised by FIFA as “sensational,” against Clube de Regatas do Flamengo. Neymar’s many individual honors with Santos included the South American Footballer of the Year title in 2011 and 2012.
Club play
FC Barcelona
In June 2013 Neymar signed a five-year contract with FC Barcelona after a trade with Santos in exchange for €57 million (about $76 million), one of the most expensive soccer transfers in history. Two years later he helped Barcelona capture the treble of a La Liga championship, a Copa del Rey title, and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League title. He was part of the legendary “MSN” trio alongside Argentine Lionel Messi and Uruguayan Luis Suarez, one of the most formidable front lines in football history. Neymar scored 105 goals in 186 games with the club across all competitions.
Paris Saint-Germain
On March 8, 2017, FC Barcelona produced one of the greatest comebacks, famously known as La Remontada (Spanish: “The Comeback”), in Champions League history, against Paris Saint-Germain. Trailing 4–0 after the first leg, Barcelona required a 5–0 win in the second match to progress to the next round. The Spanish club ended up winning the thrilling encounter 6–1, with Neymar netting two goals and assisting the winner in the 95th minute. The Brazilian won the Man of the Match award for his performance.
In August 2017 Neymar joined the French club Paris Saint-Germain FC (PSG) for a record €222 million ($263 million) transfer fee. The move also made Neymar the highest-paid player in the world at the time, with a €45 million ($53 million) annual salary. In six seasons with the club he scored 118 goals in 173 matches, becoming the fourth-highest goal scorer in PSG’s history, after France’s Kylian Mbappe (256 goals), Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani (200 goals), and Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimović (156 goals). Although he did not win a Champions League trophy with PSG, Neymar did win five Ligue 1 championships.
Al Hilal and return to Santos
Neymar joined Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal in 2023 for €90 million ($98 million). He played only seven matches with the club before sustaining a knee injury in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in October 2023. He returned to Santos FC in 2025.
International and World Cup career
Neymar was considered for the Brazilian side that participated in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but he was ultimately not included in the squad. He made his debut for the national team in August 2010, in a friendly match against the United States, where he scored his first international goal in Brazil’s 2–0 win. He scored four goals for Brazil at the 2013 Confederations Cup, including one in the team’s 3–0 victory over Spain in the final, and won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s most valuable player as well as the Bronze Boot as its third highest scorer.
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Neymar scored the fastest goal in Olympic football history, in just 14 seconds against Honduras in the 2016 semifinals.
Neymar starred for Brazil when his home country hosted the 2014 World Cup, scoring four goals in five games before he was knocked out of the competition with a fractured vertebra in the quarterfinal match against Colombia. Without its most important player, Brazil lost by a shocking 7–1 margin to eventual champion Germany in the semifinals. Despite his early exit from the tournament, Neymar had scored enough goals to win the Bronze Boot. At the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, he led the Brazilian men’s side to its first Olympic gold medal, scoring the winning penalty in a shoot-out against Germany in the final.
Neymar scored two goals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but he became as well-known for his many theatrical embellishments of fouls during the tournament (Neymar was the most fouled player in the event) as for his on-field play. Brazil’s World Cup appearance ended with a quarterfinal loss to Belgium. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Neymar sustained an ankle injury and missed several games. In the quarterfinal match against Croatia, he scored his 77th international goal, equaling Pelé’s record as Brazil’s highest goal scorer. Brazil, however, lost in a penalty shoot-out. In 2023 Neymar scored his 78th and 79th goals in a 5–1 win over Bolivia to become his country’s top goal scorer.
Despite not playing for Brazil since 2023 Neymar was a surprise inclusion in the country’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad. The decision to include him appeared to rest partly on the hope that his experience would guide a young and mercurial squad to a record sixth World Cup title. However, given his extensive history of injuries, the question of Neymar’s match fitness was at the front of everyone’s mind. Neymar had only made eight appearances for Santos in the season because of a calf injury, which added to the uncertainty surrounding his effectiveness. He did not play Brazil’s opening matches of the tournament, against Morocco and Haiti. However, he came on as a substitute in the second half of Brazil’s final group stage match, in which they defeated Scotland 3–0. He also scored Brazil’s only goal against Norway in the round of 16. Brazil lost the match 2–1 and were eliminated from the competition. Neymar subsequently announced his retirement from international football.
Legal issues
Off the field, Neymar has experienced legal troubles. In 2012 a Brazilian court ordered him and his father to pay substantial back taxes from 2007 to 2008. An appeal was denied in 2016, and that year a Brazilian court additionally found Neymar guilty of having falsified documents to avoid paying taxes on income received in 2006–13. However, he was cleared of all charges in 2017. The player and his father were also called into a Spanish court after an investment fund that had sponsored him alleged that it had been defrauded during his 2013 transfer to Barcelona. He was acquitted in 2022.