Neymar Sr’s account of his son’s poverty-stricken upbringing stands in stark contrast to the world’s most-expensive footballer’s lavish Parisian lifestyle.
expensive footballer’s lavish Parisian lifestyle.
The £198million striker – raking in over £515k-a-week since last summer’s blockbuster transfer – has turned the Parc des Princes into one of the globe’s most exclusive celebrity hangouts.
The likes of Rihanna, Tyga, Naomi Campbell, the Kardashians and the Beckhams have flocked to the French capital to catch a glimpse of Neymar in action.
While Justin Bieber, Drake and Lewis Hamilton are just three high-profile names on a long list of A-list pals.
But tales of all-night after-parties and diva-ish rows with team-mates have made onlookers question whether Neymar is taking his eye off the ball.
The rags-to-riches journey from the Brazilian favelas to soccer superstardom has become a familiar tale in the modern global game.
But, all too often, talent goes unfulfilled as more and more zeroes appear at the end of bank balances.
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The mind-boggling figures involved in his Paris Saint-Germain contract will bring Neymar money and fame on an unprecedented level.
But a look beyond the spotlight shows why this shanty-town Samba sensation will never forget his roots…
GROWING up in Mogi das Cruzes, a run-down suburb of Sao Paulo, the future Brazil captain’s life was a struggle from the very beginning.
Times were so tough for parents Nadine and Neymar Sr that they could not even afford an ultrasound scan prior to his birth
And, aged just four months, infant Neymar miraculously survived being thrown from a car in a horror smash that left his father with a broken hip.
As a toddler, Neymar often had to survive without electricity and live only by candlelight in the young family’s tiny home.
Neymar’s parents celebrate his first birthday in under-privileged Mogi das CruzesNeymar Sr describes the area as “a very low social-quality neighbourhood”, adding: “We even used to live here when it was a dumping ground, where the entire city threw their garbage.”
Yet things soon got worse when injury problems after the crash forced him to give up his own lower-league football career – and with it, all of his income.
The whole family – now with the addition of baby Rafaella – had no option but to move to Neymar’s grandparents’ tiny house, where they shared one mattress.
And, while young Neymar developed his own ball skills on the streets and futsal court, his father worked three jobs – as a labourer, a mechanic and a salesman – to keep a roof over everyone’s heads.