Neymar Jr names his favorites to win the UEFA Champions League this season

Modified Apr 08, 2025 17:30 GMT

Santos v Botafogo - Campeonato Paulista 2025 - Source: Getty

Brazilian attacker Neymar has picked his former club, Barcelona, as the favourites to win the 2024/25 Champions League. The 33-year-old predicted the winners of the UCL quarterfinals and his title favorites in a video uploaded by the official X account of the Kings League Spain.

Neymar started by picking his ex-club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), over Aston Villa. The 33-year-old then backed Real Madrid over Arsenal and La Blaugrana over Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. He wound up the last eight predictions by choosing Bayern Munich ahead of Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

In the end, he was asked to name his favourites to win the European accolade and with a smile, the Brazilian attacker said (via X/@KingsLeague):

"Barcelona."

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The Brazilian attacker played for Barcelona between 2013 and 2017. In his heyday at Camp Nou, he scored 105 goals and provided 76 assists in 186 games.

The 33-year-old won two La Liga titles, the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Supercup, three Spanish Cups, the Supercopa de España, and the UEFA Champions League with La Blaugrana.

In 2015 and 2017, the former PSG attacker also finished third in the Ballon d'Or race behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He joined PSG in August 2017 for a world-record fee of €222 million.

Neymar close to returning to action for Santos: Report

Corinthians v Santos - Campeonato Paulista 2025 - Source: Getty

Former Barcelona star Neymar has returned to Santos training after recovering from a hamstring injury, according to Ysscores. Due to the injury, the 33-year-old missed the March international break, where Selecao faced Argentina and Colombia.

Neymar suffered the injury during Santos' 2-0 victory over RB Bragantino on March 2. As per the aforementioned source, the Brazilian attacker is nearing a return to Santos's playing XI.

The former PSG attacker has played seven matches for Santos since his return to Brazil, scoring three goals and providing three assists. The 33-year-old returned to his boyhood club earlier this year from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal after his contract was terminated.

His time in the Middle East was marred by injuries as he only made seven appearances for Al-Hilal, scoring one and assisting three goals.

About the author

Shashank is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering European football since the past 2 years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has also played the sport as a box-to-box midfielder and a full-back at national level, along with Tennis, Taekwondo and Boxing.

Shashank has been a Liverpool supporter since 2014 and had first stumbled upon the club after receiving a gift which had the words 'Liverpool FC' written on it. He has idolised Steven Gerrard over the years but his favorite football memory is the Reds' incredible comeback 4-0 win over Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semis. He, unsurprisingly, also loves Jurgen Klopp's managerial style.

He strives to report 100% accurate content by going through several social media platforms, and prides himself on his above-average vocabulary and researching skills. In his career so far, Shashank has had the privilege of interviewing Indian national football team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Shashank also follows the Indian Super League and the Eredivisie along with European Football. In his off time, he likes to do theatre, watch Tennis, and travel.

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Edited by Arshit Garg