The current number 10 of Paris Saint Germain is one of the greatest football athletes of this generation, check out the trajectory of the boy who was just a promise for Santos.

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As one of the greatest Brazilian players of recent times, Neymar had an explosive career at the beginning.

The athlete signed his first contract at the age of 12, and the rest, well, the rest is history. See all the details of the star's early career below.

Neymar began his career playing for Santos' youth teams, when he was still just 11 years old.

At that time, he still lived a humble life, when he still did not earn enough to support his family.

Little by little, the club realized the boy's talent, and the fees to keep the player playing for the club began to increase.

The closer to the professional category, the greater the expectations for the star, who was already called the jewel of football.

Since his debut, the player was a highlight of the Santos team, in his first Campeonato Paulista he already won the title with his club.

Furthermore, the player was chosen as the revelation of the championship, showing that the promise of a star was reality.

In the same year, another title for his account, the player was the club's main player in winning the Copa do Brasil that year.

In 2011, it seemed like a replay, the player once again had an impressive campaign and won the Campeonato Paulista for the second year in a row.

That same year, the player who carried the number 11 on his back had one of the best seasons of his life.

The Santos team had not won the Libertadores since 1963, when they still had the legendary Pelé.

Until Neymar had a spectacular competition and returned glory to the village team.

Peixe's number 11 had magic on his feet, he lined up with the markers, in a similar way to Ronaldinho Gaúcho.

He was the team's main player, scoring six goals in the competition, including one in the final.

With this presentation, the player, in addition to becoming well known in Brazil, began to be noticed internationally.

After the great campaign in the Libertadores, the player also won the Puskas award, for the most beautiful goal of the year 2011.

In a match against Flamengo, Neymar passed three markers with a disconcerting dribble and covered up the goalkeeper.

Furthermore, this same year the player entered the list of the 10 best players in the world in the FIFA rankings, without even having set foot in Europe.

Check out the list of the top 10:

1: Lionel Messi – Barcelona

2: Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid

3: Xavi – Barcelona 

4: Andrés Iniesta – Barcelona

5: Wayne Rooney – Manchester United

6: Luis Suárez – Liverpool

7: Diego Forlán – Inter Milan

8: Samuel Eto'o – Anzhi Makhachkala

9: Iker Casillas – Real Madrid

10: Neymar – Santos

The Santos star was ahead of big names like Mesut Özil, Sneijder and David Villa.

Wherever the player goes, he leaves his trademark, his dribbles, sprints, and above all, his boldness.

The player's time at Santos leaves traces of classic South American football. In this way, Neymar brings the style of the Americas to the club he plays for.

Furthermore, the player's inspiration from Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Pelé is clear from the way the athlete acts.

Inspired by former stars, today he is the inspiration. The player's reflections are also seen in the new generation of Brazilian players.

Just as the football of Ronaldinho Gaúcho and company shaped Neymar, the player also left his participation to the next generations.

Vini JR, Antony, Raphinha, and many other names of great Brazilian promises, carry Neymar as inspirations.

Neymar is a special case, the player is much more than just football, his boldness and unique style created a personal brand, today, known throughout the world, but which began in Vila Belmiro.

The player, always disdainful, had a very aggressive style in football, but nothing related to violence, but rather in the way he started to dribble.

When going head-to-head against his opponents, Neymar was not intimidated, and performed dribbles such as hats, half-moons, scooters, among many others.

Furthermore, he was also well known for celebrating his goals with dances to the songs of the moment, bringing him and the club a lot of popularity.

This generated a lot of identification in football, where fans were looking for much more than goals and titles, but also joy.

The player also became very famous for his personality, of responding to comments and not accepting certain criticisms.

Today Neymar's personal brand is boldness and joy.

After Neymar's great success at Santos, the player was no longer treated just as a player, but as a celebrity.

And he began to be approached by major European clubs, in particular Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The big club in the village ended up being too small for the size of the star that Neymar became, and his departure was only a matter of time.

After the player's great success in Brazil, the next big step was to conquer Europe.

In 2013, Barcelona made one of the most expensive signings in history, paying around 57 million euros for the Brazilian star.

He arrived at the famous Catalan team to play alongside great players like Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and many other football legends

What happened from now on was history happening, Neymar reached the top of world football. 

He won the biggest titles in Europe, such as the Champions League, Spanish Championship and the Club World Cup.

From Vila Belmiro, to being one of the best players of the season. 

This was the beginning of the career of Neymar Jr, the village boy, who conquered the world of football.