Neymar made his professional debut with Santos in 2009. In 2011, he was awarded the league’s Best Player and won the FIFA Puskás Award for a solo effort in the league. In the same year, he helped Santos win their first Copa Libertadores in nearly 50 years. In 2013, he joined Barcelona and became part of an attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, dubbed MSN. Winning the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League in the trio’s first season, Neymar was the joint-top goalscorer of the Champions League campaign and top goalscorer of the Copa del Rey. In his final season, Neymar reached 100 goals for Barcelona and set the record for most assists in a Champions League campaign. During his time at Barcelona, he was named in the FIFA FIFPro World11 twice and made the podium for the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2015 and 2017.

Motivated to be the focal player, Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2017 for a transfer worth €222 million, making him the most expensive player ever. Evolving into a complete playmaker, he largely contributed to PSG’s continuation of Ligue 1 title dominance, winning five titles. Individually, he was named the Player of the Year in his debut season and was named in the Team of the Year three times. In the Champions League, he was integral to PSG reaching its first final in 2020, being named in the UEFA Team of the Year for the second time in his career. Having scored over 100 goals for PSG, he became only the fourth player ever to have scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs. Continuing injuries caused PSG to sell Neymar in 2023 to Al Hilal for €90 million, a Saudi Pro League record transfer. He rarely played due to a year-long ACL injury and returned to his boyhood club Santos in January 2025.