10 Things You Didn't Know About Neymar

They say you haven't quite made it until you have a Netflix documentary made on your life. Neymar is one of the big guns in contemporary football, but it seems he's well on his way to being a household name after this documentary came out. The documentary tells you everything you need to know about him, from his days on the streets of Brazil, to becoming one of the biggest names in modern football. Don't worry, there are plenty of juicy details about Neymar's chaotic personal life in there as well. If you consider yourself a true fan of the guy, the documentary Perfect Chaos is a must-watch for you. But wait wait wait, don't go watching the documentary just yet, I still need you to watch till the end of this video. Playing at the highest level of the competition can sometimes mean putting your life on the line, and that's exactly what happened to Neymar during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He suffered a back injury that he describes as the worst moment of his career, as it almost cost him his ability to walk. During Brazil's 2-1 win over Colombia in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, Neymar was kneed in the spine by Juan Camilo Zuniga. The pain was so intense that he thought he was done for. Neymar stated, You gotta feel for the guy. Imagine representing your country on the biggest stage and almost being rid of your ability to walk. The official diagnosis was a lumbar vertebrae fracture. Wait until you hear what the doctors had to say. According to them, Neymar was saved from being fully paralyzed by a distance of only 2 centimeters. Damn. Imagine if we lost Neymar so early in his great career. Neymar debuted in the same club as Pele. Neymar was so crazy good at football, he made his career debut at 11 years old. The club he made his debut in was Santos FC, which is the same club that late Pele started his career in. Not only that, he was making hella cash too. According to reports, the club offered him a contract worth $2,000. Now, this was back in 2003. Imagine making that amount of money and you aren't even a teenager. He was performing so well that the club couldn't wait to put him on their senior team. He made the jump in 2009 and his earnings did too. Then he was making close to $900,000. Of course, nobody was going to stop him from climbing further up the ladder until he was out of sight of us common mortals. His net worth today is close to $200 million. Most footballers today buy themselves something expensive when they celebrate their birthdays. Not Neymar, though. The dude had to prove he was one of the best before even reaching 20 years old. As he scored his 100th goal as a professional football player against Palmeiras in the Campeonato Palista, he was well on his way to becoming one of the greatest of all time. Neymar still remembers that moment in his career, as he thanked the crowd, his family, and his friends, even dedicating the goal to them. You know what? When you're Neymar and have all the wealth in the world, something like 100 career goals is fitting as a birthday gift. Where does all of Neymar's money go when he's not spending it giving himself expensive gifts on his birthday? Well, for starters, his $2.6 million house in Brazil, that's where. If you can think of something, this house has it. From his very own squash court, to a massive swimming pool, to an entertainment area with another pool and a cocktail bar. That's not even all of it. It also comes with a helipad, a personal gym, and a tennis court. Seriously? Didn't take Neymar for a tennis person. Ah, whatever, when you're that rich, you get to live life on your own terms. It seems like Neymar was playing life in turbo mode. Not only did he make his debut at 11, but he was already a father when he was 19. His son, David Luca da Silva Santos, was born on August 24, 2011. David's mother was a former partner of Neymar, who is not involved with him anymore. But being involved with him meant she was and still is in the public eye quite often. Carolina was smart, and used this to her advantage, and is now quite the big social media personality, with a net worth of over $8 million. You'd imagine Neymar to be quite full of himself, considering how much he's achieved, but that doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, he attributes most of his success to God, and has been quoted saying, Life only makes sense when our highest ideal is to serve Christ. For those of you who don't know, Neymar is a devout Christian, and is a member of the Pentecostal branch. He's also been spotted wearing a headband that says 100% Jesus. He's also quite the philanthropist, and gives away huge amounts to charity. Humility may be Neymar's greatest attribute. Brazil has been the home to many great football players, but none have been featured on the cover of Time Magazine. It's an accolade that only Neymar has achieved since the magazine's inception in 1923. Not only does it cement his legacy, but seeing as how many people read the magazine, it probably catapulted him to even more popularity outside of football fandom and viewership. When exactly was this honor bestowed on him? Well, Neymar was still a part of Barcelona back when this happened. Being on the cover of this magazine has been the goal of many people, but Neymar can safely cross it off his bucket list. Seems like the dude can achieve anything he puts his mind to. There are those who are truly injured because of sports, and then there are those who are famous for faking their injuries, aka floppers. Football is a sport where the best actors, I mean athletes, exaggerate physical altercations to get the referee's attention and get a call their way. Neymar has been known in the past to be a flopper on the pitch, but my man's no stranger to controversy. He'll do whatever it takes to win, doesn't matter how he gets it. In fact, none of the acting he's done may be more popular than his antics in the 2018 World Cup matches. It is estimated that my man spent 14 minutes rolling on the floor during Brazil's five games. Even though that's hilarious, Neymar has denied all of these allegations. You know what though? His acting skills are not so bad, and his flopping has made difficult calls go his way several times. So much so, that even other players are inspired to do the same. I wouldn't be surprised if they start an Oscar category for the best flopper in football. Now, you may think that Neymar has a fancy shoe deal with Nike or maybe Adidas. If you guessed these two, then you're mistaken. Believe it or not, Neymar belongs to the Puma family. Neymar was with Nike during the previous 11 years, but Puma came in and offered Neymar a contract that he couldn't refuse. It's rumored that Neymar's new deal with Puma earns him on average $30 million per year. This is regarded as the biggest personal deal outside his regular football contract between a sponsor and an athlete. For comparison, Lionel Messi earns $24 million per year with Adidas, and Cristiano Ronaldo earns $20 million with Nike. Considering Neymar is only 30 years old and still has a ton of years ahead of him, Puma may actually be the big winner of this deal, barring any injuries or other crazy events that could jeopardize this deal. Football sneakerheads out there are probably drooling and waiting for when the new Neymar Jr. collection of Pumas comes out next. Fancy deals or not, footballers do have a sweet life, owing to the massive fan followings of the sport. However, these same fans sometimes take things a bit too far. If you're curious, check out our video on When Football Fans Went Too Far.