The Footballing Prince Who Never Became King: Neymar Jr

when I was just entering High School I started hearing about this Rising superstar in Brazil Who everyone was saying was the best Brazilian player produced since Ronaldo with some pundits online even seriously calling him the next Pelle and I watched some of the most lowquality highlights back then on YouTube and was absolutely amazed at how great his skills were as a young player I even tried copying him trying to do as many skill moves as possible whenever I could in my club so much so that my squad teammates would start to call me rayar yeah that's where this YouTube channel lame comes from but I can say that even up until today nobody has had more Spotlight more hype or more expectation it's truly hard to put into words just how much hype Neymar had back in the early 2010s that nobody has even come close not even a young Cristiano Ronaldo Messi erling Holland or kilon mbappe Neymar was expected to lead his generation of football as the next alltime great and a multiple bonor winner but the greatest Wonder kid of all time would never be able to block awesome into his full potential this is a story of Neymar Jr the footballing prince who never quite managed to become king Neymar would start his career by playing football in parks and streets in an early age attributing the close quarter play to his technique decision-making and ball control even as a much skinnier and younger kid than most it was obvious that his talent was different even back then dancing with the ball arounds vendors at an incredibly young age eventually at the age of 11 he would be scouted by no other than Santos FC where he would stay until he was old enough to play for the men's team however in 2005 when he was 14 years old Neymar's Talent was special enough to be recognized and invited over to Spain to sign and play for R Madrid's youth program and this is when players like zenine zadon and fellow Brazilians Ronaldo Roberto Carlos and Rabino were still with the club naturally Neymar's incredible Talent far surpassed the already high expectations of Real Madrid and they were 100 % sold on the youngster but regardless of the incredible opportunity Neymar's father who also happened to be his agent at the time decided it was best to keep him closer to home now do I think Neymar would be an even more Elite player if he had trained in Real Madrid yeah definitely he very well might have developed even more playing against a higher level of competition having access to better training facilities and infrastructure and I believe most importantly would have been motivated and fueled even more by trying to compete for playing time versus World Class players but for better for worse he would stay in Brazil and become a local Legend which if nothing else makes you really respect the love he has for his country but this Comfort decided on by his father early on in his career I believe is definitely a huge Factor as to why Neymar's eventual work ethic and dedication to the game would be as relaxed as it is today but Neymar would make his official debut for the Santos men's team at the age of 17 and would quickly start to distinguish himself in the Brazilian League scoring 14 goals and providing 10 assists in his first season but despite the 17y old's impressive stats playing against grown men it was his dribbling flashiness and just how effortlessly calm and composed he looked doing it that really began to put the spotlight on him then the very next year in the 2010 season Neymar's play style would quickly make its way around the internet and his popularity would make an incredible jump he would help lead Santos to the Brazilian Cup and dominate the campionato bista with 14 goals in 19 games eventually going on to finish the season with an incredible 43 goals and 20 assists in 60 matches an incredible 1. 05 goal contributions per game further skyrocketing his reputation as the most exciting young player in the world Chelsea had even made a 20 million EUR bid for the 18-year-old Neymar as they knew that that was just pennies compared to how valuable the generational Wonder kit was but hey not all of us can pass up on money that easily especially today with prices as high as ever finances can be so intimidating that's why you need today's sponsor Dave Dave can make managing your money so much easier with an interest free extra cash advance fee free goal tracking and easy ways to find a side hustle to make more money Dave is the banking app that levels the financial playing field when you download Dave you can get up to $500 in 5 minutes or less no credit checks and no late fees it's all part of Dave's extra cash account Advance the money you need with no interest and then settle up later millions of people have already downloaded the Dave app to make their finances easier get the help you need by downloading Dave at dave. com ramar that's dave.

com RAR you could get up to $500 in 5 minutes or less no credit check and no late fees for terms and conditions go to dave. com Legal eligibility criteria and instant transfer fees apply banking services provided by evolve member FDIC but it really wasn't until 2011 that Neymar's popularity would turn into Global super stardom during the club World Cup the world would get a glimpse of Neymar under the international Spotlight when Santos would make it all the way to the final and challenge Barcelona which meant that the most exciting young star in the world was able to play against Lionel Messi and even though Santos would lose everyone could see that this kid truly had so much potential almost single-handedly bringing his Club all the way to the final and also winning the puskus award against fellow Brazilian Giants Flamingo and by 2012 Neymar was without a doubt the most talked about player in the world outside of Messi and Ronaldo and nobody else even came remotely close he would have the best year of his career so far scoring 43 goals and providing 18 assists in 47 matches of an absurd 1. 3 gold contributions per game from someone who was only 20 years old winning the campionato Pista as the top scorer and being the top scorer of the Copa Liber Tores while nearly winning another puskus award ending the 2012 season as the South American footballer of the year for many doubters Neymar had never really proven himself at the top International level and in 2013 it was his chance to finally prove it challenging the best International squads in the world his home country during the confederation ation cup and Brazil's Golden Boy would lead his country to Victory showing extraordinary skills that hadn't been done since the days of prime Ronaldinho as they would defeat defending world and European Champion Spain 3-0 with Neymar being awarded the Golden Ball of the tournament this was absolutely huge and every football headline had Neymar's name on it and around this time he was finally talked about even more than Messi and Ronaldo which would never happen to anyone else during their Prime but there he was a 21-year-old getting all the spotlight and everyone in the world was calling him the next Pelle even being on the cover of Time Magazine with the exact same headline sure there were many other next p before him but this time Neymar seemed like the real deal it had been a very long time since so much expectation was placed on a single player everyone back then including me and everyone on my football team all wondered the same thing when was Neymar going to join a top club in Europe everyone wanted to see what he could do outside Brazil and transfer talks and rumors regarding his next destinations were all pundits could talk about Neymar was in headline after headline and finally the announcement was made Neymar would be joining FC Barcelona a Neymar and Messi combo did not sound good for other clubs at all and his presentation to Camp new had one of the biggest turnouts ever players who had underestimated him just because he played in Brazil soon learned it the hard way as he would score 39 goals and get 10 assists in 51 appearances that is 0.

9 six goal contributions per game which is insane considering he had to share the ball with Suarez who scored 25 goals and Messi who scored 58 goals barcel would absolutely dominate football winning the La Liga title UEFA Champions League title Copa del re and a Spanish super cup with Messi and Ronaldo each scored 10 Champions League goals as a competition's joint top scorers and critics who hated on Neymar saying that his Game Wouldn't translate well into Europe were awfully silent Neymar would end up on the 2015 balandor short list much to the surprise of no one just behind Messi and Ronaldo many people already knew he wasn't going to win but it was proof that he was more than just the hype that people believed him to be just a couple of years before and behind those two it was really Neymar who had the most talent in the world and was up next to be destined for greatness and Neymar would play amazingly for the remainder of his time in Barcelona scoring 51 goals and getting an incredible 51 assist in his last 94 appearances for the club winning yet another La Liga title and a Copa del re trophy in his final two seasons and overall in Barcelona he would have 105 goals than provide 76 assists in 186 matches that is an incredible 0. 97 goal contributions per game throughout his brief Four Seasons with a club Neymar would be absolutely phenomenal during the MSN era of Barcelona but deep down he had always wanted to be the star of his team and he knew that deep down as long as he stayed in Barcelona Messi would always be the priority and center of attention Neymar's wish to leave Barcelona made him without a doubt the most desired transfer in the entire world Neymar was a generational talent and everyone knew he would instantly make their Club better that's when he decided to join PSG as the most expensive transfer in history worth €222 million a record I don't think will be teing 2020 season in the height of the pandemic Neymar would help lead PSG to the Champions League final wanting to prove to the world that he could lead his Club to European Glory outside of Barcelona but as fate would have it they would lose the match 1 n to a 59th minute goal by Kingsley keman of all people which he had no control over as PSG was playing poor defense and this would destroy Neymar and in his final two seasons with the club he would reunite with lonel Messi but were ultimately Wells per game throughout his six seasons with PSG and he was still able to do that despite being constantly playing play with minor injuries almost every single season only making over 30 appearances in a single season during his time in France and first home country of Brazil after the 2014 and 2018 World Cup disappointments as although he was selected for the 2019 Copa America in which Brazil would eventually win Neymar was never able to lift the trophy with his country as just prior to the tournament he would be out with a 4-week long injury and when he was finally healthy for the 2021 Copa America despite being an absolutely incredible form and even being named the player of the tournament he would once again unluckily lose another final 1 nil this time against Argentina however in 2022 there was something different about Neymar in his final season with PSG he would have 18 goals and 17 assists in 29 matches a 1.