49 Fun Facts About Neymar

Which small-sided game shaped young Neymar's skills?

Futsal shaped his game alongside street football, until Santos spotted the 11-year-old and signed him to its youth academy.

Which penalty trick, a trademark of teenage Neymar, did football's lawmakers ban in 2010?

Pausing after the run-up, his 'little stop', became a bookable offence, although a feint while still running in stayed legal.

Who rejoined Neymar's Santos from Manchester City in 2010?

Robinho's final game on loan won Santos the Copa do Brasil for the first time.

Aged 14, Neymar had a trial with the youth team of which European giant?

Real Madrid gave him a trial in 2006, but he went back to Santos, and seven years later he signed for Madrid's great rivals Barcelona instead.

Which Santos coach was sacked in 2010 after trying to drop teenage Neymar for a derby?

Dorival Júnior had punished Neymar for a row over who took a penalty, but when he moved to keep him out of the Corinthians derby, the board sacked the coach instead.

Which continental trophy did Neymar lead Santos to in 2011?

The Copa Libertadores was Santos's first since Pelé's side of the 1960s, and it sent them to the Club World Cup, where Barcelona beat them 4–0 in the final.

Which Uruguayan club did Santos beat in the 2011 continental final?

Peñarol lost the second leg 2–1 in São Paulo, where Neymar opened the scoring just after half-time and was booked for the second game running.

Neymar's 2011 Puskás-winning goal came in a 5–4 loss to which club, inspired by Ronaldinho?

Flamengo came back from 3–0 down at the Vila Belmiro to win 5–4, with Ronaldinho scoring a hat-trick against Santos.

How did Santos keep Neymar after Chelsea bid in 2010?

A pay rise and new contract kept him at Santos, where he stayed until joining Barcelona in 2013.

Taunted by Inter de Limeira's fans in 2025, how did Santos's Neymar score in reply?

Direct from a corner: the first time the home fans jeered him there he set up a goal, and the second time he decided to shoot himself.

Which magazine put Neymar on its February 2013 cover as 'The Next Pelé'?

Time put him on its international cover, and in its interview he said he intended to stay at Santos, months before he joined Barcelona.

What did Barcelona president Sandro Rosell do amid a lawsuit over Neymar's transfer?

Rosell resigned, insisting he had acted correctly, and vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu took over.

Neymar's header earned a 1–1 draw at Atlético in the first leg of the 2013 Super Cup; how did Barcelona win it?

On away goals, as the second leg finished goalless even though Barcelona hit the crossbar with an 89th-minute penalty.

Which striker made up Barcelona's 'MSN' attack beside Neymar?

Luis Suárez joined from Liverpool in 2014 while banned for biting an opponent at the World Cup, so his competitive Barcelona debut waited until late October.

Neymar scored in the 2015 Champions League final against which club?

Juventus lost 3–1 in Berlin, where Neymar scored with the last kick of the game to seal Barcelona's second treble.

Which Neymar trick enraged Athletic Bilbao in the 2015 cup final?

His rainbow flick with Barcelona 3–1 up late on drew a shove from Bustinza and sparked a melee between the teams.

Which Borussia Dortmund winger did Barcelona sign weeks after Neymar left in 2017?

Ousmane Dembélé cost Barcelona up to £135.5m, left for PSG for £43.5m in 2023 and won the Ballon d'Or two years later.

In Barcelona's 6–1 'Remontada' over PSG, what did Neymar do late on?

Two goals and an assist: a free kick, a penalty, then the pass Sergi Roberto turned in to overturn a 4–0 first-leg loss.

The 2017 Copa del Rey final, with Neymar's last competitive Barcelona goal, was which coach's farewell?

Luis Enrique had won a treble in his three seasons, and in 2025 he won the Champions League again, this time with PSG.

Which Barcelona team-mate posted 'Se queda' with Neymar weeks before his PSG move?

Piqué later said the post was nothing official, and within two weeks Neymar had left for PSG.

What was the world-record fee PSG paid for Neymar in 2017?

€222 million was paid in person at Barcelona's offices by his lawyers, after La Liga had refused to accept the money.

In 2017 La Liga's boss said PSG were caught peeing in the pool, with Neymar doing it from where?

The diving board, said Javier Tebas, who accused PSG of 'financial doping' and wanted UEFA to investigate the club's spending.

Injured Neymar watched Manchester United knock PSG out in 2019, then earned a three-match European ban for what?

An Instagram rant at officials followed a late VAR penalty that sent United through on away goals, and it cost him three European games.

PSG fans booed Neymar in a 2018 rout of Dijon for taking a penalty instead of which record-chasing team-mate?

Cavani had drawn level with Zlatan Ibrahimović's club record of 156 goals that day, and he broke it ten days later against Montpellier.

Neymar's first appearance of 2019–20, amid boos, ended with what kind of winning goal against Strasbourg?

A stoppage-time bicycle kick won it 1–0, after a summer in which he had tried and failed to force a move back to Barcelona.

Which club beat PSG 1–0 in the 2020 Champions League final?

Bayern Munich won with a header by Kingsley Coman, who grew up in Paris and had come through PSG's youth ranks.

Why did Neymar's 2020 hat-trick against Başakşehir come a day late?

A walk-off over racism halted it, as both teams left after the fourth official was accused of a racist term towards assistant coach Pierre Webó.

In 2023, PSG fans gathered outside Neymar's Paris home to do what?

They came to demand he leave, and PSG condemned the protest and raised security at the homes of its stars.

Which injury, suffered against Marseille in February 2018, kept Neymar out of PSG's Champions League last-16 second leg?

A broken foot bone, the fifth metatarsal, sidelined him, and without him PSG lost 2–1 at home to the European champions and went out.

How did Brazil fare at the 2019 Copa América, which Neymar missed injured?

Champions without him, Brazil beat Peru 3–1 in the final for their first Copa América title since 2007.

Which Saudi club signed Neymar in August 2023?

Al Hilal paid about €90 million, but he played just seven times in an injury-hit spell before the contract was ended by mutual consent in January 2025.

How did Neymar's special '100'-shirt match at Santos's Vila Belmiro in 2025 end for him?

Injured early, he went off after about half an hour of his 100th game at the ground, though Santos still beat Atlético Mineiro 2–0.

Neymar debuted where his Brazil career would end, against whom?

The United States lost 2–0 in New Jersey, where 18-year-old Neymar headed a goal on debut, and in 2026 he played his last Brazil game there, a World Cup defeat by Norway.

Which coach left Neymar out of Brazil's 2010 World Cup squad despite a 14,000-signature petition?

Dunga refused to pick him, and after Brazil went out to the Netherlands, new coach Mano Menezes called Neymar up within weeks.

Which nation beat Brazil 2–1 in the 2012 Olympic final at Wembley?

Mexico got both goals through Oribe Peralta, the first inside a minute, while Brazil's wait for a first men's Olympic football gold went on.

Brazil beat which team 3–0 in the 2013 Confederations Cup final, with Neymar scoring?

Spain, the world champions, lost 3–0 at the Maracanã, and the win gave Brazil a third straight Confederations Cup title.

Whose knee in the back fractured Neymar's vertebra at the 2014 World Cup?

Brazil then lost the semi-final 7–1 to Germany without him.

Which World Cup award did Neymar win in 2014?

The Bronze Boot was his for four goals, including two in a man-of-the-match display against Cameroon that took Brazil into the knockout stage.

What did Neymar's red card against Colombia at the 2015 Copa América cost him?

The rest of the tournament went with his four-match ban for kicking the ball at Pablo Armero after the whistle, and Brazil lost their quarter-final to Paraguay on penalties.

Brazil beat which nation on penalties in the 2016 Olympic final for a first men's gold?

Germany lost 5–4 on penalties at the Maracanã two years after their 7–1 World Cup rout of Brazil, and Neymar scored the winner.

Which goalkeeper's fingertip save denied Neymar a late equaliser in Brazil's 2018 exit?

Thibaut Courtois kept out Neymar, and Belgium reached their first World Cup semi-final since 1986.

With whom did Neymar share the 2021 Copa América Golden Ball?

Lionel Messi ended his wait for a first major international title as Argentina beat Brazil 1–0 in the final at the Maracanã.

Neymar never took his penalty in Brazil's 2022 World Cup shoot-out defeat by Croatia after which team-mate hit the post?

Marquinhos struck the post, so Neymar, Brazil's fifth taker, never took his kick after his extra-time solo goal had put them ahead.

Neymar passed Pelé as the Brazil men's team's record scorer against which landlocked nation?

Bolivia were beaten 5–1 as he scored twice to pass Pelé's official 77 goals, celebrating the first with Pelé's punch in the air.

Brazil's home fans jeered Neymar's side at the 2016 Olympics after which result?

A 0–0 draw with Iraq was their second goalless game in a row, yet the same team went on to win Brazil's first men's Olympic football gold.

Only which player has more Brazil men's caps than Neymar?

Cafu played 142 times, while Neymar, out of the Brazil side from 2023 with injuries, came back for the 2026 World Cup and then declared his international career over.

Which sportswear brand did Neymar sign with in 2020 after his Nike deal ended?

Puma signed him soon after his Nike deal ended in August 2020, and he took on its King boot, once worn by Pelé and Maradona.

What is the subtitle of the 2022 Netflix documentary series about Neymar?

The Perfect Chaos promised the highs and lows of his life, yet several reviewers said it painted too flattering a picture of him.

Which video game series put Neymar on its North American cover in 2011?

Pro Evolution Soccer made him a North American cover star, though he later appeared beside Cristiano Ronaldo on FIFA 19's Champions edition.