BrazilAccording to Neymar, his playing style often causes him to be kicked dirty by opponents every time he enters the field.
“Sometimes I get fouled because of the way I play,” Neymar said on the PodPah podcast on February 27. “My style is to control and dribble. And that’s why I get a lot of fouls and injuries. Opponents tend to be more annoyed, more fouled by me than by Messi and Ronaldo.”
Regarding the punishment of opposing players, Neymar sympathizes with referees. According to the Brazilian striker, referees can only protect the player who has been fouled the most by giving a red card to the fouled player, and this form of deterrence is only as severe as a one or two-match ban. Meanwhile, the fouled player may have to sit out the match for a long time. Therefore, Neymar supports increasing the punishment. “Players who play foul should be suspended for a year instead of just one or two matches,” said Brazil’s top scorer.
Neymar is famous for his dribbling ability. But this style of play has also led to many injuries while playing for Barca, PSG and Brazil. While playing for Brazil in late 2023, Neymar tore his knee ligaments and had to rest for a year.
In early February 2025, Neymar left Al Hilal to return to Santos. The 33-year-old striker is gradually regaining his form. In the last 6 matches, he scored 2 goals and assisted 3 others, helping Santos reach the quarter-finals of the Sao Paulo state championship.
Neymar shone from the moment he made his Santos debut in 2009. A year later, he and teammate Paulo Ganso narrowly missed out on a place in the 2010 World Cup, where Brazil lost 2-1 to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. “I think Ganso and I should have been at the 2010 World Cup,” Neymar said. “Ganso had a better chance of going to the World Cup than me. He’s a genius. We both hoped to be called up, but it didn’t happen.”
In 2013, Neymar moved from Santos to Barca. Before that, coach Pep Guardiola left Barca in 2012, took a year off and then accepted to lead Bayern. According to Neymar, Guardiola personally came to meet him to invite him to Bayern at the end of 2012. However, he still chose Barca and missed the opportunity to work with one of the best coaches in history.
“I went into the room and my father, Guardiola and the translator were sitting there,” Neymar recalled of the meeting. “Guardiola said he wanted me to follow him and help me become the best player. He opened the computer, told me where I should play, how to do it, and if I didn’t score 60 goals a year, he would change my name.”
After failing to lure Neymar, Guardiola won three Bundesliga titles, but lost three consecutive Champions League semi-finals with Bayern. In the 2014-15 season, Neymar scored three goals as Barca beat Bayern 5-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals. After leaving Bayern, Guardiola went to Man City and won six Premier League titles and one Champions League. Before that, the Spaniard had won three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues with Barca.
