On 6 July, Brazil had been eradicated after shedding 2–1 in opposition to Belgium in the quarter-finals, with Neymar denied an injury time equaliser by a finger-tip save from Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Neymar earned his 50th worldwide cap within the opening match of the match, on 12 June towards Croatia in São Paulo. In the twenty sixth minute, with Croatia leading 1–0, Neymar elbowed Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić, after which Neymar was issued a yellow card. Many critics agreed that Neymar's punishment was too lenient and that he ought to have been issued a pink card. He equalised earlier than half-time with a shot from exterior the field and gave Brazil the lead within the second half with a penalty kick, following a controversial decision by the referee, in an eventual 3–1 win.

Neymar has six World Cup goals in 10 matches the place Brazil came in fourth in 2014 and sixth in 2018. The Brazil worldwide, who first experienced issues through the 2022 World Cup getting his right ankle damage within the group stage of the competition, pressured his return to appear within the knockout phases to no avail. In May 2013, Neymar announced he was making the leap to Europe with a switch to FC Barcelona, a powerful membership that featured celebrity Argentine striker Lionel Messi and several members of the Spanish national group. At a preliminary hearing in Madrid in 2016, Neymar claimed to not know Sonda. That stung, Sonda said, recalling the days of postgame pizzas, barbecues and the occasional games of pool.

There have been a few causes behind Neymar's determination to consider a future elsewhere, but one major moment that sparked this sequence of occasions was when Lionel Messi signed a new contract at Barca to extend his stay till 2021. One factor that puzzled nearly everybody, although, was why the player would come to such a choice. He gave interviews across 20 international locations and struggled to access his social media because of the sudden attention. Within hours, the story had spread all over the world, and everyone in football was taking an curiosity.

"We are going to have players who should step up now, as leaders, but we now have so many gamers who can lead the group and set an instance," said goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who's eight months youthful than Neymar. Yet another World Cup has ended in tears for Neymar, with soccer's most expensive player hinting he could not pull on the Brazil shirt again following a painful defeat to Croatia. His father, Neymar Santos Sr., turned his agent and each confronted corruption expenses concerning the switch fee paid by FC Barcelona.

A below-par 2018 World Cup, where he was closely criticised for his simulation, has left Neymar at a crossroads in his profession, and solely Champions League success in Paris will justify his expertise remaining in Ligue 1. He presently plays as a Attacking Midfielder, Forward in Ligue 1 for club PSG. Neymar has become an icon in selling Brazilian modern pop music, notably Música sertaneja.

Please note, this participant has 5 seasons in our information set in leagues or competitions we have not yet verified. These seasons don't yet seem on this page, but will as quickly as verified. According to the Brazilian team doctor, “The exams confirmed a lateral ligament injury on Neymar's right ankle, together with a small bone edema." His 2017 switch from Barcelona to PSG stands as the most costly ever at $263 million, which the French club paid in full forward of his signing.

He also opened the scoring with a header in a 2–0 league win versus Real Sociedad, a result which gave Barça a four-point lead over Real Madrid with only two matches remaining. In the two-legged last, Santos confronted Uruguayan aspect Peñarol and drew the primary leg 0–0 in Montevideo. At home within the second leg, Neymar opened the scoring in the 46th minute as Santos held on for a 2–1 win and Neymar won Man of the Match honours. The win introduced Santos their first Copa Libertadores triumph since 1963, when Brazilian legend Pelé was taking half in for the club. The newly-minted United States men's nationwide staff star is doubtless considered one of the hottest properties in the Premier League this summer. He's coming off an distinctive season with Stade Reims in Ligue 1, scoring 21 targets in 37 outings.

A massive fee, no output and leaving for nothing, on no account did this switch work out for Barca. The Brazilian became Barca's document signing within the wake of Neymar's exit when, in January 2018, they paid Liverpool a charge rising to as a lot as €160m, though the initial charge was round €120m. Barcelona have had more failures than successes in the transfer market since receiving €222 million from Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar in 2017.