Arena: Behind The Scenes Of Neymar
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Since a young age, Neymar has been a source of influence and controversy. The soccerstar is Brazil’s most famous celebrity. During the late 2000s, it seemed like most commercials that aired featured him. As a young adult he transformed into a global icon with hundreds of millions of people following him across multiple social media platforms. Critics have called Neymar a “diva who cares more about rubbing elbows with the elitists of the world rather than his actual play on the pitch”. Neymar has been put in a position where his play is seen as an asset, but his celebrity is a liability for teams. It is a mixed bag when it comes to Neymar and Netflix’s new series, ‘Neymar: The Perfect Chaos’, aims to sort through it to create a well-rounded image of Neymar, both good and bad.
Neymar grew up playing soccer in the streets of Brazil. The home footage shows from an early age that Neymar had great talent despite his scrawny appearance. He eventually caught the eyes of Santos FC, one of Brazil’s oldest professional soccer teams. He entered into their youth program and soared through the ranks. At age 17, Santos offered Neymar his first professional contract and started to truly make a name for himself as the next great soccer sensation. Neymar’s fame soon started to ascent as he was making specular plays on the pitch.While playing for Santos FC, Neymar helped the club win Copa Libertadores in 2011; their first victory since 1963 when Santos was led by another soccer great, Pelé. In 2013, Neymar signed an offer from Spanish powerhouse FC Barcelona. He would join Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to form one of the best striking corps in soccer history. The trio would go on to win multiple titles in Europe including La Liga and the Champions League. Neymar became Brazil’s favorite son, appearing in dozens of advertisements and cultivating one of the largest fan followings in all of sports. Young men wanted to be him, so they changed their hairstyle whenever he did. Girls wanted to be with him, often they screamed at the top of their lungs and cried whenever he showed himself in public. Through it all, Neymar handled himself with a charm and charisma that only Hollywood characters possess.
An aspect of Neymar’s life that is shined on in the series is the relationship with his father, Neymar Sr. Neymar Sr. also was a professional soccer player in Brazil and helped refine Neymar’s game as a rising star. Neymar Sr. has a unique position as both a father and a manager for his son. The blending of the roles is a difficult task, even Neymar Sr. says that he can’t separate the two. Being a family member and business partner can lead to some unpleasant moments. One example appears in the first episode when Neymar Sr. insists that Neymar wear his hat, “like a good boy” to the Barcelona signing press conference. The young and playful Neymar smiles and laughs away his father’s advice while Neymar Sr. visibly has a look of concern. While Neymar is trying to live and enjoy his life and is excited about the opportunity that awaits him in Spain, his father has the burden of trying to maintain an almost picture-perfect image for Neymar. The old adage “family and businesses don’t mix well” was fully on display when the two Neymars had an argument in front of cameras. Both go back and forth with each other in front of friends and employees of NR Sports, the agency that Neymar Sr. owns. There is palpable tension in the room that can be felt even as a viewer. Neymar classifies his relationship with his father as “professional”, a stark contrast to how close the father-son duo was during his early career.
The documentary shows videos and pictures from social media to show what Neymar is like off the pitch. From the evidence it’s clear to see that he enjoys life. He’s seen partying and taking pictures with fans and some of the biggest celebrities in the world throughout his career. He’s often been criticized by media members for his status and questioned his commitment to being one of the all-time greats. “Messi has no doubt about what his calling is. It’s playing football. It’s not the same for Neymar”, says Juca Kfouri, a well-respected Brazilian sports journalist. “Neymar makes headlines for reasons unrelated to football, not for his accomplishments on the pitch.” Kfouri is right, multiple times in Neymar’s career headlines featured him for non-sports related stories. He’s been involved in a handful of controversies, butno headlines were bigger than two seperate sexaul assault allegations. In 2016, a Nike employee claimed that Neymar, “tried to force her to perform oral sex in his hotel room while in New York City.” Neymar was one of Nike’s signature athletes and one of the faces of their soccer apparel. The incident was reported two years later, and Nike launched an investigation in 2019. During the investigation Nike cut ties with Neymar, terminating his contract as he “refused to cooperate in a good faith investigation.” In an online post Neymar denied the allegation and stated, “I was not given the opportunity to defend myself.” In 2019 Neymar was accused of another sexual assault allegation. A young woman claimed that Neymar raped her in a Paris hotel room. The two had an online relationship prior tothe night of the incident. Neymar cooperated with authorities and the case was ultimately dismissed due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
Neymar has also dealt with controversy surrounding soccer. Everything was going right for Neymar in Spain, he was an integral part of a dominant team, he was playing some of the best soccer of his life at that point, and his status was at its peak. What else could Neymar havewanted? Apparently, something different. In a surprise move that took the soccer world by storm, Barcelona announced that Neymar would be transferring to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.The transfer fee was a massive 222 million euros, making it the most expensive transfer ever. The move was strange to say the least.
In the series Neymar never fully reveals what were his motivations for wanting to leave for PSG. Media members speculated that he wanted to be the star on his own team. That goal would be impossible for anyone to accomplish so long as arguably the greatest soccer player of all time is your teammate. Neymar believed that he could find greener pastures in Paris. Neymar Sr. says Neymar wanted to take on the challenge of building up the French league. Regardless of his motivations Neymar is comfortable with PSG as he signed a contract extension through 2025, despite wanting to return to Barcelona in 2019. Neymar doesn’t care what you think. To him all that matters is playing soccer and being a father to his beloved son Davi. There are a few moments in the documentary where Neymar truly enjoys being a father. He smiles constantly around his son and plays with him whenever hecan. In the few moments of being a father, the chaos that revolves around Neymar stops. If you have a negative opinion of Neymar, then this series probably won’t change your mind. It seems the purpose of it is for audiences to see what goes on in Neymar’s personal life beyond the headlines and how he views his life, for better or worse.
