10 Things You Didn't Know About Neymar

Neymar isn't just one of the best players in world football, he's also one of the most recognisable athletes around today. Here are 10 things you didn't know about the Brazilian magician. 10. Almost joined Real Madrid Neymar spent four years at Barcelona, where he won two La Liga titles and the Champions League. Barca signed him in 2013, beating off strong competition from other clubs, including Real. Things could have turned out very differently. Aged 13, Neymar flew to Spain and had a trial with Real Madrid's youth team. This was in the Galactico era, when Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham were all playing for the club. In the end, Neymar decided to stay in Brazil. His father thought the youngster should continue his development at home. Neymar himself explained it a few years later. The priority was my happiness, and I wanted to become a professional footballer first and then I'd come to Europe. 9. Robinho was his idol As the star of the national team, Neymar is the player that young Brazilian kids look up to more than any other. When Neymar was growing up, his idol was Robinho. He also started his career at Santos before a big money move to Spain, Real Madrid in this case. Robinho never really fulfilled his potential, and Neymar has already surpassed him. But Ney has never forgotten the influence Robinho had on his career. When I started following Santos, Robinho was my favourite player. He's my greatest idol, Neymar told an interviewer in 2016. 8. Became a father age 19 Neymar's only 29, but his son is already 10 years old. The Brazilian became a father when he was still in his teens. Carolina Dantas, his former girlfriend, gave birth to Davi Luka in 2011. Neymar hasn't had any other children yet, but he does have plans to expand his family. I'm almost 30, I have a good career, but on a personal level, I want to have two more kids to give my son Davi some brothers, he said. Neymar previously kept the identity of Davi's mother a secret, but he's now more open about his family life. 7. West Ham try to sign him In an alternate universe, Neymar could have been playing alongside Scott Parker, Rob Green and Carlton Cole in 2010. That summer, West Ham submitted a £16m bid for Neymar. Now, that fee sounds like nothing these days, but £16m was quite a big offer for a player who'd never even played for Brazil before. Santos said no and pointed to Neymar's £28.4m release clause. If West Ham had paid another £12.4m, they might have been able to sign the teenage sensation. The board thought about it, then decided to withdraw their interest. West Ham were relegated at the end of that season. 6. Score the fastest Olympic goal The Olympics is the pinnacle of many sports, but that's not the case for football. The World Cup and the Copa America are bigger prizes for the Brazil national team. But at the summer games in Rio, Brazil were desperate to win gold. The Olympics was the only tournament they'd never won, and they picked a star-studded team to end the drought in 2016. It worked, and Neymar was the star of the show, scoring the winning penalty in the final against Germany. He also scored the fastest goal in Olympic history that summer. Just 14 seconds into the game against Honduras, Neymar capitalized on a defensive error to make it 1-0 to Brazil. 5. First Brazilian athlete on the cover of Time magazine The football pitch isn't the only place where Neymar's made history. In 2013, he became the first Brazilian athlete to grace the cover of Time magazine. The article about him was entitled, The Next Pele, and looked at how the career of Brazilian football star Neymar explains his country's economy. It wasn't the last time Neymar featured in the iconic magazine, which was founded way back in 1923. In 2017, he was included in the Time 100, a list of the most influential people in the world. Not bad for someone who kicks a ball around a field. 4. Shattered the world record transfer fee Now, you probably already know that Neymar's £198 million move to PSG made him the most expensive footballer of all time. But it's worth digging a bit deeper into that number. Every player in Spain has to have a release clause in their contract. Barcelona made Neymar's £198 million. They were confident that no one would ever be able to afford such a huge amount. Then PSG came along in 2017. The transfer didn't just break the world record fee, it absolutely shattered it. The fee PSG paid was more than double the previous record of £89 million set when Paul Pogba moved to Manchester United. In fact, this was the first time since 1932 that the world record fee increased by more than 100%. 3. Won the Puskas award at Santos Many Brazilian talents leave their homeland very early. Just look at Vinicius Jr and Rodrigo, who both joined Real Madrid aged 18. Neymar waited a little while longer. By the time Barcelona bought the 21-year-old in 2013, he'd already played 225 games for Santos. In 2011, Neymar won the Puskas award for his goal in Santos' 5-4 loss to a Flamengo side that contained a 31-year-old Ronaldinho. Neymar scored a sensational solo goal, leaving several defenders for dead before dinking the ball over the keeper. It was a sign of things to come. 2. Only Pelé has scored more goals for Brazil Think of all the great attacking players who've played for Brazil down the years. Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Bibeto, Romário, Zico, Ronaldinho… the list goes on. Well, Neymar scored more goals than all those mentioned above. In fact, Pelé is the only player who's ahead of Ney in the all-time top scorers list. Pelé might not be number one for long, though. Neymar scored 68 goals for the national team, only 9 fewer than the legendary Pelé. At this rate, Neymar will soon be Brazil's all-time leading goal scorer. He's still three World Cups behind Pelé, though. 1. From humble beginnings to superstardom Neymar doesn't have to worry about money these days, but he comes from humble beginnings. When he was a kid, Neymar's dad worked three jobs simultaneously so he could feed the family. His mom worked as a cook at a nearby childcare facility. When Neymar signed his first deal with Santos, he was able to improve the life of his whole family. Fast forward to 2021, and Neymar is one of the most prominent sportsmen in the world. He ranked 6th in a list of the 50 most marketable athletes in 2020 and earns millions from various sponsorship deals. Neymar Sr. definitely doesn't have to work three jobs anymore. What's your favorite fact about Neymar? Drop a comment below, then hit subscribe so you never miss a non-stop football video.