Neymar Birthday Special: Interesting Facts About the Brazilian Footballer As He Turns 28

Widely celebrated as one of the best footballers among those of the current generation, Neymar turns 28 on this day (February 05, 2020). Born in 1992 in the suburb of Mogi das Cruzes in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Neymar came into prominence during his time at Santos where he came through the junior teams and made his senior professional debut for the Brazilian club at the age of 17. He was initially interested in futsal and played street football before shifting his focus into professional football, courtesy his father – Neymar Santos Sr. – who was a former professional footballer before turning his son’s advisor. Neymar inherited his name from his father but achieved much more than his dad could as a footballer, where he is not only the most expensive footballer of all time but also considered the true heir to Lionel Messi’s throne of greatness. Neymar Jr Beats Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo As Best Player In Europe; Thanks to These Stats.

Spotted by Santos FC at his childhood, Neymar joined the Brazilian giant famous for producing the likes of Coutinho, Alex, Diego, Elano and many more. He was offered a contract in 2003 and a professional contract at the age of 17. But Santos had to spend a lofty sum of money to keep hold of the prodigious talent who was almost on verge of joining Real Madrid at the age of 14. Neymar had gone for a trail with the Real Madrid youth team and had impressed the Spanish giant’s coaches to such an extent that they offered him a youth contract. But Santos paid Neymar’s father a huge amount of money to keep him in Brazil before selling him to Barcelona for €57.1 in 2013. No Place for Cristiano Ronaldo in Neymar's Dream Five-a-Side Team.

But the time he joined Barcelona, Neymar had already won the Copa do Brazil (2010), Copa Libertadores (2011), Recopa Sudarmericana (2012) and the Campeonato Paulista (2010, 2011 & 2012) with club Santos FC and lifted the 2011 South American Youth Championship with Brazil while coming second at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He had also won the South American Footballer of the year in 2011 and 2012, the FIFA Club World Cup Bronze Ball and the Most Valuable Player award in 2011 Copa Libertadores. But above all was the 2011 FIFA Puskas award he received for his wonder goal against Flamengo in the Brazilian league. On his 28th birthday, take a look at some lesser-known facts about Neymar Santos Jr. Neymar Says 2019 Was Tough for Him, Both Professionally and Personally.

• Neymar da Silva Santos Junior was born in Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, Brazil to Neymar Sr. and Nadine da Silva on February 05, 1992
• As a child, Neymar was interested in Futsal and street football but later shifted his focus into becoming a professional footballer
• In 2013, Cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa wrote a comic book named “A Boy With Talent” making Neymar one of only few players to have comic books named after them
• Neymar is the only Brazilian athlete to have appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, rest all have been Brazilian politicians
• Neymar holds an incredible record of scoring his 100th professional goal on his 20th birthday
• He became the most expensive player of all-time when Paris Saint-Germain signed him from Barcelona in a move worth €222 million
• Neymar with 26 goals from 101 matches is already the third-highest goal-scorer for his national team Brazil behind only Pele and Ronaldo
• He is the first player ever to score in a Copa Libertadores and UEFA Champions League Final
• Neymar is also the eighth player to win both the Copa Libertadores and UEFA Champions League trophies
• Neymar, along with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez holds the record for scoring the highest number of goals (131) as an attacking trio in Spanish football history
• Neymar is the youngest Brazilian to appear in 100 international matches with the national team
• He was part of the historic Brazilian team that won the nation’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in 2016

At Barcelona, Neymar paired up with Lionel Messi and Luiz Suarez with the attacking trio famously dubbed as “MSN” using their name initials. He won the Supercopa de Espana in his debut season with the Le Liga giants but it was the blockbuster 2014 season that Neymar will fondly remember. Barcelona won the La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League achieving a treble in 2014-15, which made them the only club to achieve the feat twice in football’s history.

Personally, Neymar became the first player to score in the final of both the Copa Libertadores and UEFA Champions League and the eighth player overall to win both the continental trophies. He also finished the Champions League season with 10 goals, joint highest with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, making him the first since Kaka in 2006-07 to top the Champions League scoring charts along with the other two. Neymar now plays for PSG, where he has already won the league title twice along with a host of other trophies. Happy Birthday, Neymar!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 04, 2020 10:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).