Neymar

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [nejˈmaʁ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ ˈsɐ̃tuz ˈʒuni.oʁ] ^ⓘ; born 5 February 1992), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Santos, which he captains, and the Brazil national team. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time, being known for his explosive speed, trickery, elite-level dribbling, technical ability, playmaking, and finishing. He is often cited as an influence for an emerging generation of footballers. Neymar is Brazil's all-time top goalscorer and is the joint all-time top assist provider in international football. He has scored over 400 goals and has over 300 assists.

Neymar made his professional debut with Santos in 2009, and in 2011 helped them win the Copa Libertadores and later reach the FIFA Club World Cup final. In 2013, at 21 years old, La Liga club Barcelona signed him for €86 million; he soon became part of a dominant attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez—known as MSN. Neymar won the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League in 2014–15, finishing as the joint-top goalscorer of the Champions League campaign and the top goalscorer of the Copa del Rey. Determined to be the sole star, he joined French club Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, becoming the most expensive player in history after his €222 million release clause was activated. In his new number 10 role, Neymar became a key figure in PSG's continued domestic dominance, including five Ligue 1 and three Coupe de France titles, and was pivotal to the club reaching their first Champions League final. Despite injuries causing limited game time with PSG, he became one of the club's all-time top goalscorers. In 2023, he parted ways with PSG to join Saudi club Al Hilal in a lucrative deal, though rarely played for them due to a year-long injury. He returned to Santos in January 2025.

At 18, Neymar debuted for Brazil and has since become the nation's second-most-capped player, only trailing Cafu. He is the nation's all-time top goalscorer, with 79 goals in 128 matches; this also makes him the second-highest South American men's goalscorer. At his first major international tournament, the 2011 Copa América, he scored twice. He won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, winning the Golden Ball, as Brazil defeated the dominant Spain team in the final. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he was focal to Brazil reaching the semi-final—their best result since the 2002 win—and was named in the Dream Team. He captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in men's football at the 2016 Summer Olympics, having previously won a silver medal at the 2012 edition, and appeared in the 2018 World Cup two years later. In the 2021 Copa América, Brazil finished runner-up to Argentina and Neymar was jointly awarded Best Player. In the 2022 World Cup, partly owing to Neymar's exceptional form for PSG, Brazil were favourites to win the tournament; they ultimately suffered a shock quarter-final exit.

Neymar finished third for the Ballon d'Or during the Messi–Ronaldo dominance in 2015 and 2017, and has been nominated a further seven times—a record for a Brazilian player. In total, his six top 10 finishes for the Ballon d'Or are only exceeded by four other players. Neymar also finished third for the FIFA The Best Men's Player in 2017. He was named in both the FIFA FIFPro World11 and the UEFA Team of the Year twice. He has received the FIFA Puskás Award, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Player, the La Liga Best American Player, the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, and the Copa Libertadores Best Player. Internationally, he received the South American Footballer of the Year twice and was runner-up for IFFHS's CONMEBOL The Best Man Player of the Decade (2011–2020) award, behind Messi. He was also named in the IFFHS CONMEBOL Team of the Decade (2011–2020). In 2024, he was honoured with the Globe Soccer Player Career Award.