What Is Neymar's Net Worth and Salary?
Neymar is a Brazilian football (soccer) player who has a net worth of $350 million. Neymar began his professional career at Santos FC in 2009. His exceptional dribbling skills, creativity, and goal-scoring ability quickly caught global attention. In 2013, he made a high-profile move to Barcelona, forming a formidable attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. During his time at Barcelona, Neymar won numerous titles, including the UEFA Champions League in 2015.
In 2017, Neymar transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record fee, becoming the most expensive player in history. At PSG, he continued to showcase his talents, helping the team dominate French football and reach the 2020 Champions League final. For the Brazilian national team, Neymar has been a key figure since his debut in 2010. He led Brazil to victory in the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2016 Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro. Despite facing injuries during crucial tournaments, he has consistently been one of Brazil's top performers in World Cups and Copa América competitions.
Salary & Contracts
In 2017, Neymar signed a 5-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain that made him the highest-paid soccer player in the world and perhaps the highest-paid athlete on the planet in terms of base salary at that point. His base salary from the club was $78 million. He earned an additional $20-40 million per year from bonuses and endorsements. For example, in 2020, he earned a total of $96 million – $78 from salary and $18 million from endorsements. Between May 2021 and May 2022, he earned a reported $90 million.
In August 2022, Neymar signed a contract with a Saudi team that guaranteed him an annual base salary of $160 million. He also earns $30 million per year from Puma.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, commonly known as Neymar Jr. or simply Neymar, was born on February 5, 1992, in Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil. His father, Neymar Santos Sr., is a former footballer, and after noticing his son's growing talent in the sport, took on the role of his advisor. The family moved to São Vicente in 2003, where Neymar began playing for the youth team Portuguesa Santista. Later that same year, they relocated to Santos, where he joined Santos FC. There, he trained in the Santos youth academy. When he was 14 years old, Neymar traveled to Spain, where he joined the Real Madrid youth team; at the time, stars like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, and Robinho played for Real Madrid.
Professional Career
Neymar's professional debut came on March 7, 2009, when he was only 17 years old. He played in the last 30 minutes of Santos' game against Oeste. During his rookie season, he scored 14 goals in 48 games. He continued his stellar performance, scoring 42 goals in 60 games during his second season in 2010 and winning the 2012 South American Footballer of the Year award. He played his final season for Santos on May 26, 2013, and announced the following day that he would be signing with Barcelona FC.
While with Barcelona, Neymar pulled off many impressive achievements. Notably, he was part of the iconic attacking trio consisting of him, Lionel Messi, and Luis Suárez, also known as "MSN," that ended the 2014-2015 season with 122 goals between them—the most ever scored in a season for an attacking trio in the history of Spanish football. They went on to smash their previous record the next year with 131 goals. On August 3, 2017, Barcelona announced the payment of €222 million to the club by Neymar's legal representatives, which triggered the release clause of his contract. This constituted the most expensive transfer ever at the time. Neymar then signed on with French club Paris Saint-Germain. He helped PSG attain a domestic quadruple in the 2019-2020 season and led them to their first-ever Champions League final. In November 2021, Neymar suffered an ankle injury but returned in February 2022 and helped the club win their record-tying 10th national championship. In March 2023, it was announced that Neymar would undergo surgery and be ruled out for the rest of the season.
In addition to his professional football career playing for various clubs in Brazil in Europe, Neymar's career also includes many notable achievements as part of the Brazilian National Team. He was selected to be a member of Brazil's senior team for the first time in 2010 when he was only 18 years old, playing his first match for the team in a friendly game against the United States. He has since continued to represent Brazil at various international competitions, such as the 2011 South American Youth Championship, the 2013 Confederations Cup, three Copa America tournaments (2011, 2015, and 2019), two Summer Olympics (2012 and 2016), and two World Cups (2014 and 2018).
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Personal Life
Neymar was previously in a relationship with Carolina Dantas, with whom he shares a son, Davi Lucca, born on August 13, 2011. In 2021, Neymar started dating Brazilian model Bruna Biancardi. The couple announced their engagement in January 2022 before temporarily breaking up. They got back together in January 2023 and announced Bruna's pregnancy in April.
Neymar is very close with his sister Rafaella; the siblings both have tattoos dedicated to each other. Neymar is also a devout Pentecostal Christian who reportedly tithes 10% of his income to his church, although these reports have not been substantiated.
Net Worth Over Time
When Neymar was just 17 years old, he signed his first major contract with the Brazilian team Santos. This contract paid him $1.7 million per year. A year later, Santos attempted to lock Neymar down with a $20 million longer-term contract extension. Neymar rejected the offer because he knew the competition in the Brazilian leagues would not be as good as in the European leagues and would, therefore, hinder his chances of becoming the best player in the world. He did eventually sign a short-term contract with Santos that paid him $4 million per year, but allowed him to seek new options in the meantime. In 2013, Neymar signed a $119 million contract with Barcelona. This mega-deal paid him an average of $15 million per year in salary. Neymar also earned an estimated $16 million per year from endorsement deals. That brought his total annual earnings to roughly $30 million between 2013 and 2017.
On August 2, 2017, Neymar signed a deal that had him transferred to French club Paris Saint-Germain. Under the terms of the deal, Neymar should earn a record-breaking $1.02 million per week, roughly $53 million per year in salary alone. When combined with his endorsements, Neymar will earn around $70 million per year. Between June 2017 and June 2018, Neymar actually earned $90 million, of which $20 million came from endorsements and $70 million came from salary and bonuses. He earned roughly the same amount between June 2018 and June 2019.
Neymar was rated by "SportsPro" magazine as the most marketable athlete in the world in May 2013. A significant portion of his net worth comes from the numerous sponsorship deals he has signed with various companies. In 2011, he signed an 11-year contract with sportswear brand Nike. He has been the face of advertisement campaigns for the brand and has also launched products with them, such as the Nike Hypervenom football boot, released initially in May 2013. Also in 2011, he signed a 2-year, $2.4 million deal with electronics brand Panasonic. Other brands he has worked with include Volkswagen, Tenys Pé Baruel, Lupo, Ambev, Claro, Unilever, and Santander.
