Football
Neymar Jr was little over 2 years old when he realised kicking a ball gave him joy. He's spent the last 12 years of his compulsive career giving that joy back to football fans around the world.
When Neymar Jr signed for Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017 for a world record fee, the mission was simple. Win the Champions League. After scintillating performances against Atalanta and RB Leipzig, German giants Bayern Munich denied Neymar Jr and his team-mates Champions League glory in 2020.
However, the Brazilian was able to build on his reputation as one of the best footballers on the planet in Lisbon, playing with an imagination and freedom that culminated in his sublime backheel assist to Ángel Di María in the semi-final against RB Leipzig. When the ball is at his feet, he comes alive. And usually, so does the match. Here we explore where his love of the ball comes from.
The love of the game
Neymar Jr was born in the Mogi das Cruzes area of São Paulo in Brazil. It didn’t take him long to discover his passion, and the game he would dedicate his life to. A football would never leave his side and he would play both before and after school. As he openly admits: "Nothing else seemed to matter."
His father, Neymar Sr, remembers: "Since he was little, he always stayed in touch with the soccer ball. I believe he found this joy when he was around two-years-old. The soccer pitch is Neymar Jr's joy. If you give him a soccer field he'll be happy. It doesn't matter where he is.
The obsession with the ball
The ex-Barcelona striker grew up playing indoor futsal and on the street. The tricks, technique and speed of thought he developed during this time was fundamental in shaping his future career.
When he transitioned to field football, aged 11, with his hometown club Santos, it was clear the only thing he was interested in was the football.
His first coach at Santos, 'Lima', reveals: "He always wanted all the balls for him. I talked a lot about this with him. The first thing he said when he got to the field was: where's the ball? We had a special routine for him because, if he could, he would train the whole time with the ball."
The return to his roots
Every year, the 28-year-old returns to his hometown of Praia Grande and the Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr for the world final of his signature five-a-side football tournament, Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five. Here, alongside guests such as Dani Alves, Gabriel Jesus and Djibril Cissé, he displays his full array of skills and tricks with the ball in a friendly match against both the male and female winners.
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