Off the pitch – Three things you didn’t know about Neymar

Neymar Jr Brazilian is a footballing sensation who set the world alight from a young age. Brazil has produced some of the most skilled and best-known players the world over. But Neymar is up there with the best of them.

From a young age, he played for Brazilian club Santos. Joining them when he was only 11 years old back in 2003. His skills were recognised by clubs in the northern hemisphere. And everybody was keen to sign him up.

He had never played for any other clubs before joining Barcelona. But that could have all been very different. When he was just 14 years old, Spanish giants Real Madrid made a play for the star striker.

He went out to join the club’s medical team at the Bernabeu and passed all of the necessary fitness tests. But at the last minute, his current team Santos gave him a healthy pay rise. So in the end, no official bid was ever made.

Fast forward a few years, and this is where we find fact number one that you may not have known about this Brazilian star.

 

West Ham connection

The East London Premier League team, West Ham, were the first club to make an official bid for Neymar. They offered £16 million to Santos in an audacious move to bring him to the London club.

Santos immediately turned down the offer. But this piqued the interest of other top clubs such as Chelsea. And the international stage was now waiting to acquire the services of this skilled marksman.

Despite interest from many Premier League clubs over the years, experts often felt that Neymar was not best suited to the English game. England’s top-flight has a reputation as a very physical league. And quite often lighter players who rely on skill and flare don’t fare well against the brutal tackles that come their way.

Neymar Junior has always weighed less than 70 kilos. So they thought that he would suffer against the physically strong defenders in the Premier League.

 

Barcelona’s bargain

In 2013, Barcelona was able to lure Neymar away from Brazil with an eye-watering €60 million transfer fee. Considering that West Ham tried to pick him up for a quarter of that price a few years earlier, it is no wonder that Santos turned down the Premier League club straight away.

But despite this huge price tag, Neymar is not even close to being the most expensive player that the Spanish giants have ever signed.

Ahead of him is Antoine Griezmann. Barca paid a massive €120 million to Atletico Madrid for this French star. They also shelled out €145 million for Borussia Dortmund player Ousmane Dembele. The club brought him in to replace Neymar when he left the club.

But the biggest Barcelona purchase was back in 2018 for Phillippe Coutinho. They paid Liverpool a fee including bonuses that amounted to an incredible €160 million.

So why was Neymar such a bargain for Barcelona at 100 million?

In 2017, Barcelona sold Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for an outrageous fee of €263 million. And now, Neymar enjoys his place as one of the world’s highest-paid athletes at the age of 30. With salary and endorsements coming to nearly €80 million per year.

 

He’s a very private character

Neymar Jr became a father when he was 19 years old. But he didn’t announce it to the world and always refused to name the mother to protect her identity and that of the child. But over the years, more details emerged about son Davi Lucca. And the 10-year-old Brazilian is now firmly in the spotlight as the son of one of the most famous and richest footballers on the planet.

 

The next step for Neymar Jr

But despite enjoying a successful stint in the domestic league at Paris Saint-Germain, his future still looks uncertain. The coveted Champions League trophy eludes the French Champions. And the rumour mill is in full swing as to where he may head off to next.

Barcelona were recent favourites to take Neymar back to the Nou Camp with 2/1 odds of signing their man.

And Real Madrid is close behind them with 3/1 odds of finally landing the Brazilian.

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Sources: realmadrid.com / premierleague.com