Neymar Jr.
Neymar Jr. at the PSG presentation following his record transfer in August 2017. Photo by Antoine Dellenbach, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Most expensive transfer in football history
Brazil's all-time top goalscorer
Olympic gold medalist
Neymar Jr. is one of the most decorated and commercially recognized footballers of his generation. His professional career began at Santos FC — the same club that launched Pelé decades earlier — where he won the Copa Libertadores before a move to FC Barcelona, where he claimed the UEFA Champions League as part of the club's 2015 treble, and, in 2017, a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million, the most expensive transfer in football history. With the Brazilian national team, he captained the side to its first-ever Olympic football gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games, scoring the winning penalty in the final, and in 2023 broke Pelé's long-standing record to become Brazil's all-time leading goalscorer. At 25, he stood alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the three defining players of his generation. SportsPro named him the world's most marketable athlete in both 2012 and 2013, and in 2017 TIME included him among its 100 most influential people in the world.
How 1966 Americas helped
REACH
6 language editions
RECOGNITION
World's most marketable athlete (2012 & 2013)
ACCOLADE
TIME 100 (2017)
COVERAGE
Across 7+ international outlets
BUSINESS CONSULTING | PUBLISHING | LICENSING & IP MANAGEMENT | FILM & TV PRODUTION
At 25, Neymar had already become one of football's most marketable and recognized athletes, but his commercial infrastructure remained built almost entirely around endorsements tied to his playing career. Drawing on prior work with Pelé, 1966 Americas developed a long-term strategy built around original intellectual property rather than traditional endorsements — resulting in Neymar Jr. Comics, a digital publishing platform launched across six language editions, extended through licensing into temporary tattoos, skincare and mobile gaming, and paired with a content-development partnership with a major film and television production company.
Global Media & Entertainment Presence
The work 1966 Americas developed with Neymar Jr. — from the Neymar Jr. Comics launch at Comic Con to platform extensions including his Twitch channel — generated coverage across global sports media including ESPN, FOX Sports, The Sun, Folha de São Paulo, ESPN Singapore, India.com, and Mexico’s MedioTiempo, alongside entertainment platforms, demonstrating the international reach of his cultural influence beyond football.
