Neymar da Silva Santos Junior first caught the world’s attention when he played for Brazilian club Santos. His flair, skill, two-footedness, and his exceptional ability to dribble; beating multiple players in the process had football fans enchanted.
He was a joy to watch. Neymar is considered one of the best players of this generation and one of the best dribblers of all time. Incredibly skilled, he can execute multiple tricks and techniques as needed to get past players.
At the start of his career, we knew we were witnessing a generational talent who would go on to dominate world football and win multiple accolades like Ronaldinho and even the legendary Pele. We thought at a point in his career, he would win the Ballon d’Or but sadly he never did and it doesn’t look like he ever will.
In August 2023, 31-year-old Neymar completed a transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal. To many, it was the beginning of the end of his career, the start of his swan song. Neymar never won the Ballon d’Or and may have fallen short of what the football world expected of him, this has made some fans conclude that Neymar failed as a footballer. But did he? Really? Let’s look at his career so far.
Early Career
Neymar started playing football early and was discovered by Santos who offered him a contract way back in 2003 when he was just 11 to join their academy. He must have been something special for one of the biggest Brazilian clubs to offer him a contract at such a young age.
Professional Debut
Neymar debuted for Santos in 2009 at 17 and quickly became the club’s best player. The eye test was easy for him to pass as his talent was obvious and on top of that, he was producing results. He racked up 14 goals in 48 games for Santos that season. His flair and skill with the ball left many defenders in the dust and many fans in awe.
In 2010, South American football journalist Tim Vickery said “The 18-year-old is a magnificent prospect. He is skillful and able to beat the defender on either side, capable of combining well and full of tricks he can put to productive use in and around the penalty area,” as he described Neymar.
In the same year, Neymar helped Santos win the Campeonato Paulista, emerging as the best player in the competition after scoring 14 goals in 19 games. His success and ability sparked interest from Premier League clubs Chelsea and West Ham which he rejected.
For context, he was only 18 at this time. At the end of the year, aged just 18, Neymar came third for the 2010 South American Footballer of the Year behind Andres D’Allesandro and Juan Sebastian Véron.
In 2011, Neymar helped Santos win their first Copa Libertadores since 1963, scoring six goals in their run-up to the finals, tying him for third top goalscorer. He emerged as the Man of the Match in the second leg of the finals in which he opened the scoring to help Santos secure a 2-1 victory over Uruguayan side Peñarol.
He won the Puskas award for his solo goal against Flamengo in the Brasileirão Serie A and finished the year by winning the 2011 South American Player of the Year award following the footsteps of football legends like Maradona and Pele.
The Brazilian finished the 2012 Campeonato Paulista with 20 goals and was voted Best Player and Best Forward as Santos were crowned champions. He was the joint top scorer in the Copa Libertadores, the best player in the 2012 Recopa Sudamericana, and the best forward in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
He ended 2012 by being awarded the Golden Ball, Arthur Friedenrich Award, and Armando Nogueira Trophy. He finished as runner-up to Miroslav Stoch in the 2012 Puskas Award and beat Ronaldinho to retain the title of South American Footballer of the Year. The fact that he achieved this much from outside of Europe, in Brazil only helps us understand how outstanding he was.
In his time with Santos he won six trophies; three Campeonato Paulista, one Copa do Brasil, one Copa Libertadores, and one Copa Sudamericana. The Brazilian recorded 136 goals and 65 assists in 225 appearances for Santos making him a club legend.
Barcelona (2013-2017)
Neymar moved to Barca in 2013, joining arguably the best team in football history. He assimilated quickly into Barca’s Tiki Taka style of football quickly becoming a regular starter. He combined with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to form one of the most feared attacking trio in football history; the MSN.
Together, they dominated La Liga and Europe. They played beautiful football and scored goals; a beautiful time in Barcelona.
Neymar was instrumental in Barcelona’s treble win in 2015. He scored his 20th goal of the 2014/2015 season in a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarter-final and scored twice in Barca’s 3-1 semi-final victory over Villarreal to help the club qualify for its 37th Spanish Cup final. He scored the second goal in the Copa del Rey final on May 30th, 2015 as Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at Camp Nou.
In the 2015 Champions League, Neymar scored a brace in Barcelona’s 2-0 quarter-final win over Paris Saint Germain (PSG). He scored the last goal in the 3-0 first-leg Champions League semi-final defeat of Bayern Munich and scored both goals in Barca’s second-leg defeat to Bayern at the Allianz Arena to ensure Barca qualified for the final in which he again scored the third goal in the 3-1 defeat of Juventus to help Barca win the 2015 UEFA Champions League.
He contributed 23 goals and seven assists to help Barca win the 2014/2015 La Liga.
Over the three seasons he played for Barcelona, he recorded 105 goals and 59 assists; a total of 164 goal involvements.
He won eight trophies with the club including the continental treble. He won two La Liga, three Copa del Rey, one Super Copa Espana, one UEFA Champions League, and one FIFA Club World Cup. These are exceptional numbers given the short time he played for the club and being in a team with top goalscorers Messi and Suarez.
Paris Saint Germain (2017-2023)
His exceptional performances at Barcelona were somehow always eclipsed by Messi, so he decided to step out of Messi’s shadow by moving to PSG. He signed for the French club in 2017 for a record €222m transfer fee.
Neymar instantly became the best player in the French Ligue 1 and started racking up goals. He formed a partnership with Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe and dominated the Ligue 1. Neymar won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year finished third in the 2017 Ballon d’Or and was ranked the third best footballer in the world by the Guardian behind Messi and Ronaldo in both cases.
His time at PSG saw him win 10 trophies; three Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de France, two Coupe de la Ligue, and two Trophée des Champions. He was never able to win the Champions League with PSG, coming closest in 2020 when PSG faced Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final which they lost 1-0. He scored a total of 118 goals for PSG.
Al Hilal (2023-present)
He moved to Al Hilal in 2023 where he has recorded one goal and two assists. He sustained a knee injury in 2023 which will keep him out till later this year.
Brazil
On the international stage, Neymar scored 77 goals for Brazil to become the country’s highest goalscorer. He won an Olympic gold and FIFA Confederations Cup with Brazil in 2013. In total, Neymar has 436 goals and 246 assists in 708 professional games; exceptional numbers by any metric.
If you’ve read this far, it’s glaring that this is not the career of a failed footballer. Neymar is an incredibly talented, generational talent who achieved a lot in football. He was just unlucky to be plagued by injuries and to play football at the same time as Messi and Ronaldo.
If they didn’t exist, Neymar would have won more than one Ballon d’Or and would undeniably be the best player of his generation.