Neymar Jr opens up on sacrifices he made to become footballer

BRASÍLIA: Neymar Junior has opened up about the sacrifices he made to become a professional footballer.

Neymar is the record goal scorer for Brazil with 79 and has featured in the three FIFA World Cups.

The Santos forward appeared on his YouTube channel to discuss his struggles and difficult time. “I was 13, 14 years old and didn’t go on school trips, didn’t go to the cinema with friends in the evening because I couldn’t and had training the next morning,” Neymar said.

“I used to say: ‘Bloody hell, all my friends at school are having fun, and here I am, at home, staring at the ceiling.’ “But there was a purpose, a reason, and I understood that. I’d get annoyed, but the next day I’d be over the moon because I was playing football.”

Neymar, who achieved immense fame worldwide and earned a lot of money through football, sometimes wishes for a simple and private life. “I’ve been in this situation for 20 years,” he said. “It’s the price of being a player. It’s tough. In Brazil, it’s absolutely gruelling. People tear you to pieces and don’t understand that you’re a normal person.

“All right: it’s f—ing hard. I’m grateful as hell, I’ve worked for this, but I’m a human being.” He has been fighting with injuries constantly in recent times, which has not allowed him to have peace.

“I suffer too, I feel pain, I wake up in a bad mood, I cry, I get pissed off, I’m happy — it’s all normal,” he said. “Why can’t I do normal things?”

Neymar has not featured for Brazil since October 2023, when he tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee. Despite having good performances for Santos in recent months, he has yet to convince national team coach Carlo Ancelotti of a place in the squad for the World Cup. Web Desk