early life

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior was born in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, to Neymar da Silva, Sr. and Nadine Santos. He inherited his name from his father, who is a former footballer and became his son's advisor as Neymar's talents began to grow.^[13] Neymar comments on his father's role "My father has been by my side since I was little. He takes care of things, my finances and my family."^[14] Growing up, Neymar combined his love of futsal with street football.^[15]

In 2003, Neymar moved with his family to São Vicente, where he began playing for youth side Portuguesa Santista.^[16] Then, later in 2003, they moved to Santos, where Neymar joined Santos FC.^[17] With the success of his youth career and added income, the family bought their first property, a house next to the Vila Belmiro. Their quality of family life improved, as at age 15, Neymar was earning 10,000 reais per month and at 16, 125,000 reais per month. At 17, he signed a full professional contract, getting upgraded to the Santos first team and even receiving sponsorships.