Neymar Júnior, Brazil footballer: Profile, Career, News & Videos

Neymar Júnior is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Santos. Known for his dribbling, technical ability, playmaking, passing, and finishing, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He is the all-time top goalscorer of the Brazil national team, with 80 goals.

Neymar made his professional debut with Santos in 2009, soon emerging as a teenage sensation. He helped Santos end a 48-year drought to win the 2011 Copa Libertadores, where he was named Best Player. In the 2012 season, he was the top scorer in the Copa Libertadores. After years of interest from top European clubs, Neymar joined Barcelona in 2013 and soon became part of an attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, famously dubbed MSN. Among his titles at Barça were two La Liga titles and the UEFA Champions League — the latter was part of a treble in 2014–15, during which he was the top goalscorer of both the Champions League and Copa del Rey.

In 2017, Neymar left Barcelona to join French club Paris Saint-Germain, becoming the most expensive player after his €222 million release clause was activated. He was touted as the player to lead them to their first Champions League title. However, injuries limited him to fewer than 175 matches; despite this, he scored over 115 goals and assisted 70. He helped the club win five Ligue 1 titles and came close to delivering Champions League success, with PSG finishing as runners-up in 2020 and reaching the semi-finals in 2021. In 2023, he joined Saudi club Al-Hilal before returning to Santos in January 2025.

Neymar was capped 130 times for Brazil, the second-most for the country. He appeared in four consecutive FIFA World Cups from 2014 to 2026, scoring 9 goals. At the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, Neymar received the Golden Ball as he helped Brazil win the title. At the Summer Olympic Games, he captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in 2016, having previously helped them achieve silver in 2012. Neymar missed his nation's triumph at the 2019 Copa América through injury but led them to the final of the 2021 Copa América, for which he jointly received the Best Player award. He retired from international football in 2026.

Neymar is one of only five players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs, is both the all-time Brazilian top goalscorer (43) and assist provider (33) in the Champions League, is the second-highest South American men's international goalscorer (80), and was formerly the all-time leader in international assists (59). He has been included in the Ballon d'Or three-man shortlist twice, the FIFPRO World 11 and the UEFA Team of the Year two times each, and was included in the France Football Team of the Decade for 2011–2020. One of the world's most famous athletes, Neymar has been named the world's most marketable athlete by SportsPro, has appeared regularly on Forbes' annual list of the world's highest-paid athletes, and was included in the Time 100 Most Influential People list in 2017.