How brilliant is Paris forward Neymar?
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Article summary
The Brazilian has scored 35 goals in 57 UEFA club competition games; not a bad record at all.
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Article body
At 28, the Paris striker is in his goalscoring prime; UEFA.com celebrates his achievements so far.
What they say
"There are some players who are touched by a magic wand and Neymar is one of them. If he wants to win the Ballon d'Or, he will. If he wants to be the all-time top scorer for Brazil, he will. He enjoys playing and every season he gets better. He's like a fine wine."
Former Paris full-back Dani Alves
"Neymar could be better than me."
Pelé
"He's like a big brother to me. When the star player welcomes you as warmly as he welcomed me, it makes it easier for you to adapt to your new team. When you get to know Neymar, he is completely different from the image that he has on television. He loves laughing and making loads of jokes. He's got real joie de vivre and gets on with everybody."
Kylian Mbappé, Paris forward
"He's one of the best players in the world but he is also an artist, a creator. For creative players it's sometimes easier not to put too much pressure on them."
Thomas Tuchel, Paris coach
"Playing alongside Neymar is very easy because he's a superstar. All you have to do is get the ball to him."
Philippe Coutinho, Brazil attacking midfielder
"His number of goals and assists show he's a beast of a footballer. He's one of the most unpredictable players in the world."
Former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique
"He's a great player, and I get on well with him. I like to see him playing and regardless of where he is, taking care of himself and avoiding injuries. That's what I want for him."
Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus forward
Current tally
International: 101 appearances, 61 goals
UEFA club competition: 57 appearances, 35 goals
Domestic competition: 432 appearances, 275 goals
Claims to fame
Santos
• Aged 17, Neymar scored on his first senior start, a diving header in a 3-0 win against Mogi Mirim in the 2009 Sao Paulo State Championship.
• Took the 2011 Copa Libertadores by storm, leading Santos to their first South American title since 1963 with six goals, the last coming in the second leg of the final against Uruguay's Peñarol.
• Collected the 2011 FIFA Puskás Award, given to the player judged to have scored the best goal of the year, for a dazzling solo strike against Flamengo.
Barcelona
• Around 60,000 supporters turned out at the Camp Nou to greet Neymar when he signed for Barça in June 2013. The 21-year-old said at his presentation: "I'm so happy to be able to play with great players like Messi, Iniesta and Xavi. I thank God for all this."
• Truly found his feet in his second campaign with Barcelona, 2014/15. He formed a formidable trident with Lionel Messi and newcomer Luis Suárez that produced 122 goals as the Blaugrana won a treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League. They bettered that tally by nine the next term, helping Barcelona retain their Liga and domestic cup titles.
• Starred in Barcelona pulling off the biggest comeback in UEFA Champions League history in 2017, scoring twice in the final moments and supplying the pass for Sergi Roberto to flick in the decisive sixth goal in the Azulgrana's 6-1 round of 16 second-leg victory over Paris.
Paris
• Scored on his Paris debut in a 3-0 win over Guingamp in August 2017 and went on to strike six times in his first six Ligue 1 outings. Neymar ended his first season in France with 19 goals in 20 top-flight games, including four in an 8-0 triumph against Dijon in January 2018; he was crowned Ligue 1 Player of the Year.
• With a front three of Neymar, Mbappé and Edinson Cavani, Paris scored 25 times in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage – an all-time competition record. Neymar got six of those goals, finding the net in every game bar one.
• His maiden French campaign finished prematurely after suffering a fractured metatarsal against Marseille, ruling the Brazilian out of the decisive UEFA Champions League round of 16 second-leg loss to Real Madrid. He recovered in time to help Brazil to the quarter-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
• Won titles in his first two seasons at Paris, and made a breakthrough in 2020 as round of 16 victory against Dortmund took the French champions to the quarter-finals for the first time since Neymar's arrival.
Brazil
• Struck on his senior international debut, a 2-0 success against the United States in August 2010.
• Shone in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup, both in Brazil. He registered the second goal as Spain, whose starting XI included six future Barcelona team-mates, were beaten 3-0 in the final of the former tournament and notched twice against both Croatia and Cameroon in the group stage of the latter.
• His tearful departure from the field during Brazil's quarter-final against Colombia, after sustaining a broken bone in his back, remains one of the enduring images of the 2014 World Cup.
• Converted the decisive penalty against Germany in the final shoot-out in August 2016 to seal hosts Brazil's first-ever gold medal in the men's Olympic football.
• Overhauled Romário (55 goals) to move into third place in Brazil's all-time goalscoring chart after finding the target in a 2-0 win against Costa Rica at the 2018 World Cup.
• Won his 100th Brazil cap in October 2019. Is now joint-fifth in the list of the most-capped Brazil players alongside Cláudio Taffarel.
What you might not know
• Neymar is one of six Brazilians to have won the Copa Libertadores and UEFA Champions League, and one of two players to have scored in the final of both continental competitions; Argentina's Hernán Crespo is the other.
• He bagged the fastest goal in Olympic football history on 17 August 2016, beating Honduras keeper Luis López after just 14 seconds.
• Never shy and retiring, Neymar has dabbled in acting – he averted a heist and saved Samuel L Jackson's skin by kicking an object at an assailant in the 2017 Hollywood film xXx: Return of Xander Cage, and had a cameo part in an episode of Brazilian soap Amor à Vida.
What he says
"I played with [Lionel] Messi, who is, for me, one of the greatest footballers of all time, and he is my idol in football. As for Cristiano Ronaldo, he is a monster. Facing him is a pleasure and an honour."
"I don't feel comfortable about comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. They are superstars and always play at the highest levels. I don't know if now is the moment to be the best in the world. I only want to be better than myself and keep outdoing myself."
"Messi helped me a lot. I had a lot of problems at the start with Barça, but the best player in the world came up to me and said: 'Calm down, things will work out, just keep playing your football.' That made me feel a lot better."
What he might achieve yet
• Neymar's aim must be to catapult Paris to their first UEFA Champions League crown. Toppling 156-goal Zlatan Ibrahimović as the French side's all-time top marksman is also an attainable long-term objective (he has scored 69 so far).
• Neymar was named third-best player in the world in 2015, behind Messi and Ronaldo, but with both well beyond the age of 30, his target must be to win the Ballon d'Or accolade or lifts The Best FIFA Men's Player award.
• Become Brazil's all-time top scorer at international level; with 61 goals he is third in the rankings, one adrift of Ronaldo in second. Pélé tops the list with 77.