"We're not stopping here," - Neymar Jr. reacts on social media after receiving Player Career Award 2024 at Globe Soccer Awards

Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr. has reacted on social media after receiving the Player Career Award at the Globe Soccer Awards 2024 ceremony on Friday. He was one of three recipients of the award alongside former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Neymar Jr.'s European career started in the summer of 2013 when Spanish giants Barcelona signed him from Santos FC for a reported transfer fee of €88 million. At La Blaugrana, the Selecao superstar formed one of the most lethal attacking trios of this generation with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Neymar Jr. won the UEFA Champions League, two LaLigas, the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Supercup, three Spanish Cups, and one Supercopa de Espana. In 2017, the Brazilian joined Paris Saint-Germain for a record-breaking fee of €222 million.

At Les Parisien, Neymar Jr. combined with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to record 118 goals and 77 assists in 173 games across competitions. He now plays for Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal, having joined them in 2023.

Neymar Jr. posted on Instagram about his Player Career Award win at the Globe Soccer Awards 2024. The Brazilian captioned it:

"Thank you to my family, my friends, my teammates, my coaches and my fans. Very happy for the recognition, having my name written in football history is really awesome!!! A great honor to receive this award from @globesoccer. We don't stop here, the work continues!!!!" (translated from Portuguese by Google)

Neymar's time with the Blue Waves has been far from the best. The Brazilian has played just seven games so far, scoring one goal and assisting three more. He has mostly been injured during his time in the Middle East.

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Neymar Jr.'s father explains why his son left Barcelona

FC Barcelona v Sevilla FC - La Liga - Source: Getty

Neymar Jr.'s father Neymar Santos Sr. has recently claimed that his son left Barcelona in 2017 because he didn't want to take Lionel Messi's place at the club. The Brazilian played 186 games for the Spanish giants, scoring 105 goals and assisting 76 more. He was also part of the legendary Barcelona squad of 2015 that won the coveted treble alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Speaking about his son's abrupt departure from Catalonia in 2017, Neymar Santos Sr. said (via CNN Brasil):

“Those guys made our lives difficult because I really wanted my son to stay in Barca, I really wanted him. We did everything we could until the last few days to keep him from leaving, and he did. Even though he was in love with those guys, he didn’t want to put himself in the position of Barca’s biggest star. And he decided: ‘I’m going to go my own way’. And he went to PSG."

He also opined that his son's decision was influenced by his desire to not take Lionel Messi's place at the club. He said:

“When he went to PSG, it was his dream, his thought, his decision. He decided to change. But why? At the time, it was a bit strange. We were in a difficult situation with Barcelona, because we didn’t really know what the board thought."

“They said things as if he was going to occupy a position he didn’t want. He didn’t want to take Messi’s place, he didn’t want to be the guy: ‘I don’t want any of that, I’m going to go to my corner, I’m going to another place’. And he didn’t want to, they didn’t accept it."

The Neymar-Messi duo reunited once again in 2021 when Lionel Messi joined the Paris outfit. Overall, the two have played 206 games across clubs, registering 67 joint goal participations. While Lionel Messi has assisted 27 goals by Neymar Jr., the Brazilian superstar has returned the favor 40 times.