4. Neymar was overlooked for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa – even with Brazil legends Pele and Romario pushing for him to be included in the squad. 14,000 fans also signed a petition for the wonderkid to travel, yet the pleas were ignored as the forward wasn’t on the stand-by list, either.
5. Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid looked certain to sign the Brazilian when he was 14-years-old, with Neymar jetting to Spain and passing all the required tests, yet Santos blocked the move as they paid a sizeable price to keep their star in Brazil.
6. Neymar is the only Brazilian athlete to have graced the front-cover of Time magazine – and the only other Brazilians to have received such honour from the world-renown magazine have been political figureheads. An incredible achievement.