Purely in terms of skill, Neymar is probably the number one in world football right now - and has been for some time.The Brazilian is outrageously talented and arguably the most skilful footballer we’ve seen since his compatriot, Ronaldinho, lit up the beautiful game in the mid-2000s.Unlike Ronaldinho, though, Neymar tends to divide opinion. Rightly or wrongly, the 28-year-old is just as famous for his playacting as his extraordinary ability.But there’s a reason why Neymar, who cost Paris Saint-Germain a staggering £198 million in 2017, is the most expensive footballer of all time.He’s a showman - capable of getting an entire stadium off their seats - with an end product.Months before his move from Barcelona to PSG, Neymar starred in a charity match designed to raise money for those affected by the Chapecoense tragedy.Seventy-one of the 77 people on board LaMia Flight 2933 lost their lives when the plane carrying the Chapecoense football team en route to Medellin for the 2016 Copa Sudamerica final crashed near the Colombian city in November 2016.The charity match saw a Neymar XI and a Robinho XI go head-to-head - and it was Neymar’s team who ran out 13-9 winners on the night.
There was one moment from the game which ended up going viral.Neymar received the ball on the left-wing and was begged - yes, begged! - by an opponent not to humiliate him.The player in question was Fred Desimpedidos, a man with an uncanny resemblance to Neymar who currently boasts 4.9 million followers on Instagram.Fred literally bowed to his knees and held his hands up as if to say ‘please don’t do this to me, Ney!’But Neymar showed no mercy to his opponent. If anything, it made him more determined to humiliate the defender.The Brazil international produced a wonderful piece of skill to bamboozle Fred before bursting into the penalty area.Watch the video here…
Ruthless from Neymar - you love to see it.
Kaka, Gabriel Jesus and Formula One star Felipe Massa were among the other high-profile stars who featured in the charity game.
But it was Neymar, unsurprisingly, who stole the show.