Brazil has provided several legendary football players to the world like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Pele, Kaka, and many more. Neymar da Silva Santos Junior or simply Neymar Jr., also managed to join the list of the legendary Brazilian legendary players, and that too at a very young age. He is currently one of the most skilled players of the Brazil football team who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He was born on February 5, 1992, and is only 29 years old. But he still managed to achieve quite a lot of things at this young age and also become one of the most popular and richest football players in the world.
People consider his name among the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when they talk about the best players in the world. Despite all that, there are several things we bet you don’t know about him. So, here are the Top 7 Lesser Known Facts About Neymar Jr.
1: Neymar’s Records & Achievements
Neymar Jr. debuted at the very young age of 18 years for the national football team, and now he is the second-highest international goal scorer for Brazil with 69 goals in 113 matches. He is only behind Pele, but everyone is quite confident that Neymar Jr. will soon surpass him as well. Neymar was the leading goal scorer when Brazil won the 2011 South American Youth Championship. Whereas in the 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup, Neymar won the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament. Neymar Jr. bagged the 2011 FIFA Puskas award too. Neymar was also a part of the team that won the very first Olympic gold medal for the nation in 2016.
2: Neymar Jr. First Club
Some fans believe that Barcelona is the place where Neymar Jr. grew as a footballer. Barcelona did raise him to fame, but a Brazilian Club known as Santos was the very first club of Neymar. He joined this club way back in 2013 and played for them for a total of eleven years before moving to Barcelona. That is also the reason why Neymar Jr.’s last game, Santos, was a really emotional one for him. Neymar Jr.’s love for Santos was so great that he even refused a deal from Real Madrid back in 2014. However, Santos did pay him an undisclosed amount of money at that time to keep him at the club.
3: Neymar Jr.’s 100th Professional Goal Came On His Birthday
One of the most interesting and lesser-known facts about Neymar Jr. is that he scored his 100th professional goal on his 20th birthday. February 5, 2012, will always remain special for him as it was the day when he scored his 100th goal in a match against Palmeiras. There aren’t many players who can brag about achieving a milestone on their birthday. Another impressive fact is that Neymar Jr. had 100 professional goals when he was just 20 years old.
4: Neymar Jr. is PSG’s Most Expensive Purchase
Back in 2017, when Neymar Jr. made a jump from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, he became PSG’s most expensive purchase. Ligue 1 Club paid a whopping total of 222 Million Euros to Neymar for his transfer. On the other hand, he was Barcelona’s ninth most expensive purchase back in 2013 as they paid him 100 Million Euros for his transfer from Santos.
5: Neymar Featured on TIME Magazine’s Cover
Neymar Jr. is the only athlete in the history of Brazil who appeared on the cover page of TIME Magazine. Before him, only a few politicians from the nation made it to the cover page. Also, Neymar Jr. achieved this feat when he was only twenty years old.
6: Pele & Romario Wanted Neymar in 2010 World Cup Team
Neymar Jr. made his international debut for Brazil back in August 2010 in a friendly match against the United States. According to reports, football legends like Romario and Pele have pushed the former manager of Brazil to include Neymar Jr. in the 2010 World Cup team. More than 14,000 fans of Neymar signed a petition for the same as well. However, in the end, Neymar Jr didn’t even make it to the list of the stand-by players.
7: Neymar Jr. Became a Father In His Teens
There is nothing that Neymar Jr. didn’t achieve at a very young age. Neymar Jr. became a proud father of a child named David Lucca back in 2012 when he was only 19 years old. He became a father even before completing his teenage years. However, Neymar Jr. never revealed the identity of David’s mother to protect her and the child.
So, these are the Top 7 Lesser Known Facts About Neymar Jr. that will help the fans understand their favorite Brazilian football player even better. Also, keep coming back to Sports News International for all the latest sports updates.