Neymar Exclusive: 'Pele told me to snub Chelsea'

Neymar carries the hopes of the Brazilian nation on his shoulders — and is delivering some sublime football. Ahead of Brazil’s game against Chile, Sportsmail publishes a fascinating extract from his autobiography in which Neymar, 22, and his father chart the rise of a boy the family call Juninho.

Lucky to be here: Neymar's father feared his son was dead just four months into his life after a car crash

THE DAY I FEARED HE'D DIED

(by his father, Neymar Snr)

IN June 1992, four months after the birth of my son, we went to Santos to visit some relatives. I had played for Uniao FC on that day. I was driving with my wife Nadine at my side and our son Juninho was sleeping soundly, strapped to the baby seat at the back of my red car.

Driving down the mountain on a rainy day is always dangerous — especially on a road with a single lane and two-way traffic. A car came in our direction. I swerved to the left.

The other car crashed into us and went through my door. My left leg ended up above my right leg. My pubis and pelvis dislocated. I was in shock and yelled to my wife ‘I’m dying, I’m dying’. It all happened very fast and confusion settled in. The feeling that came next was even worse than pain and fear: Where was my son? Me and my wife couldn’t find Neymar Jnr. I thought he had been thrown out of the car. 

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We were almost certain we had lost our son. In the middle of the despair and with the pain in my pelvis, I can only remember  praying to God to take me instead of my son.

The car stopped on a cliff. There was a stream below. We were hanging just above it. Nadine had to get out through the back window. I was trapped by the seatbelt. Juninho was missing. The people who came to our rescue found Juninho under the back seat. Thank God! When they took him out, he was covered in blood and taken to a hospital. All that blood was from a small cut in his head made by a shard of glass.

Quiet reflection: Brazil's talisman takes a moment out from the session, hidden behind a static 5-man wall

SNUBBING CHELSEA

IT was August 23, 2010. My father and I had a meeting with president Luis Álvaro at the Santos headquarters, inside the Vila Belmiro. Chelsea had made a huge transfer bid. In the middle of our conversation, the president turned off the lights and pointed at an empty chair.

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‘This is the chair of the great national sports hero. Since Ayrton Senna’s death, this chair is vacant. If Neymar Jnr stays in Santos and refuses Chelsea’s proposal, he will give his first step to sit in this chair.’

That made us think. That decision would be a turning point in my life. Even Pele called me. Can you imagine how important I felt? The King of Football called and asked me to stay.  

He reminded me of his entire career with Santos, his five world titles with the national team and the club, and all the recognition he received. It wasn’t easy but it was the right decision for us. We did the right thing for our family, friends and my career.

ll pays off: Neymar is now the hero of millions as Brazil seek to win the World Cup on home soil

TRAINING TO IMPROVISE

Improvising is essential in football. I learned this early in life. You might have some play in mind and train for that a lot. But it’s in the heat of the game that you’ll know if it works or not. The secret is that it’s possible to ‘train’ how to improvise. How many times did I do that at home? I used to get the ball, set up the furniture and go around dribbling anything that popped up in front of me.

That’s how I spent my childhood at my grandfather’s house, where I lived with my parents. We shared a small room: me, my sister and my parents. From the door, there was a mattress to the left, where we all slept. In front of the mattress there was a trunk and a wardrobe.

There was a small space between the mattress and the wardrobe and it was in this narrow corridor that I used to play with the ball. I used to love to kick the ball around there and also liked to throw myself at the mattress as a goalie.

My cousins also played. I mean — they were part of the game. Jennifer was one of the goalposts. Rafaela, my sister, was one of the posts for a long time. Lorrayne and Rayssa were the opponents (actually, more like training dummies, with all due respect).

They stood as obstacles and sometimes even wore sports jerseys so I could pretend it was a real match.

Later, at the little house my father was able to build, the ‘pitch’ was very simple. One of the goals was on the back door. I played, narrated and cheered. ‘And then Neymar scored! Neymarzinho!’ Me! I miss all that.

There were even ‘fouls’. When I  dribbled and hit the sofa, I  complained to the imaginary  referee. But I played like it was for real.

The other day, I did a photo shoot for an ad campaign. When we finished, I asked for the ball we used. I went to the elevators doing freestyle ‘kick ups’. I continued for the whole trip down. At the lobby, a couple of kids asked for autographs. After a few pictures I continued to play with the ball all the way to my car. I’ll tell you, I can’t live without the ball.

MOBBED AT THE SHOPS

I realised things had changed on a Tuesday afternoon, right at the beginning of my career in 2010, when I left after a training session. I decided to go to the mall to buy a music player. I parked my car and, when I stepped out, there were about 10 people asking for autographs and pictures. I started to give the autographs and a big line formed at the parking lot. Suddenly, it was a real crowd.

I thanked everyone, put my cap on and entered the mall fast. But people followed me. When I entered the store, a full commotion was formed. The mall security and the manager had to  create a security operation. I don’t even know how I got out of there.

At first, I didn’t understand all that. It was a bit scary. Some girls would cry so much when they saw me. And there were a lot of kids with the hairstyle I had. All this affection is rewarding, but it did scare me.

Source: Daily Mail UK