Neymar, a flamboyant football star from Brazil, has grabbed the headlines on numerous occasions. Whether it’s on the pitch or off, it’s never a dull moment with Neymar. The 31-year-old player, who now plays for Al-Hilal after a €90 million transfer, has had a fruitful football career playing for some of the top clubs in the world.
His soccer career started at Santos, and because of his impeccable talent, he moved to Barcelona in 2013 playing with Messi and Suarez. Five years later, we witnessed the most expensive football transfer in history when PSG signed for Neymar at a fee of €222 million. While in PSG, the young star played with top talents like Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, once again.
With such an impressive career that has a really good pay, Neymar got interested in a new hobby—playing poker. In an interview with CNews, Neymar mentions that he got interested in poker during the World Cup 2014 when he watched his fellow players enjoying the game.
From then on, he started playing poker at online casinos that offer a wide variety of poker games. You’d be surprised to know that there are over 10 poker variations you can play, each with its rules. However, the internet is full of sites that offer information about how to play online games, including poker, and casino reviews like this Winomania review that will point you in the right direction.
Neymar’s gambling journey has led him to partner with top sites such as PokerStars as their cultural ambassador. The football player has participated in a number of poker tournaments set up by the operator which have earned him a place in world poker rankings. In such a short time, Neymar seems to have honed his skills with professional poker players, Julien Sitbon and Thomas Eychenne, appreciating his skills and mentioning that he has great potential.
However, it was only a matter of time until Neymar experienced his first major loss that would cost him big money. Being the poker enthusiast he is, Neymar set up a Twitch livestream and started playing poker as his fans watched. After a short while, Neymar had lost £900,000 and ‘broke down in tears’. But it was all a joke as he turned around and started laughing.
Part of what made the livestream even more funny were the comments from his fans. One of them commented, “You went from a million to zero in 60 minutes.” While another said, “It is just a drop in the water for him.” With a networth of over $200 million, the comment couldn’t be far from the truth. At that time, Neymar was also one of the highest-paid players in PSG earning approximately £3.4 million per month.
So if you think that was enough to make Neymar quit his love for poker, then think again. The Brazilian football star who is close to hanging his boots also mentioned to CNews that he would like to go pro after ending his football career.
Even though Neymar might have lost £900,000 in 1 hour and didn’t make it to the second day of the PokerStars Las Vegas tournament, he surely is passionate about the game. As we wait to see how his football career unfolds, it would be interesting to keep our ears open for any poker news related to the star.
