Brazilian whiz Neymar has nearly become too known for his off-field contentions and individual life as he has his excellent footballing accomplishments as of late.
Neymar isn’t embraced and was raised by his folks Neymar Sr and Nadine da Silva. Notwithstanding, there have been bits of gossip that Neymar’s child David Lucca is embraced due to their different complexions.
Neymar is of blended race and has a more obscure complexion than his nine-year-old child. This contention has been countered by the way that Neymar likewise had a lot lighter complexion when he was David Lucca’s age.
While neither Neymar nor his child are embraced, there has been various footballers in the past that were taken on or raised by non-permanent families.
Neymar and his child, David Lucca da Silva Santos
The subsequent all-time top scorer for Brazil, Neymar, invited his child David Lucca da Silva Santos into the world in August 2011 when he was only 19. The kid is the child of Neymar and his previous sweetheart Carolina Nogueira Dantas and was brought into the world in São Paulo, where Neymar played for Santos at that point.
I know this is Neymar’s son but DAMN the kid looks nothing like him at all pic.twitter.com/vWCH9sfpCq
— ᴛᴏᴘ 5️⃣ Big 🅱️ossman 🥷🏾 (@TJ_Bass316) July 5, 2014
The couple had initially planned on naming their son Matheus before opting for David Lucca instead. Although the couple is no longer together they remain on amicable terms and share dual custody of their son.
As the son of one of the world’s most famous athletes, David Lucca himself has already built a considerable social media following despite still being just nine years old. With an Instagram following of just under 1.5million, he has the potential to become one of the world’s richest children as he has the capability to receive up to $5,000 per sponsored social media post.
As with much of his personal life, the birth of Neymar’s son was not without its own controversy. As well as the claims that David Lucca was adopted, the Paris Saint-Germain forward was also sued in October 2019 by the doctor who aided in the birth.
The medical professional claimed he had not received payment as stipulated for the birthing services and prenatal care he offered to Carolina back in 2011.
Adopted footballers – Wright-Phillips, Moses and Cruyff
Former England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips was adopted by Arsenal legend Ian Wright when he was three years old and Wright was dating his mother Sharon Phillips.
The couple subsequently had Shaun’s half-brother Bradley Wright-Phillips, who also became a professional footballer and is the all-time leading scorer for Major League Soccer outfit New York Red Bulls. Shaun made over 500 club appearances in his career for the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers.
He also spent the tail end of his career playing in the USA with his brother. During his time as a player, he represented his country 36 times, scoring six goals and also won seven major trophies including the Premier League with Chelsea in 2005/06.
He retired in 2019 aged 37. His son D’Margio is currently a member of Manchester City’s under-23 squad.
Another former Chelsea wide man, Victor Moses, was also raised by someone other than his biological parents. Having been born in Lagos, Nigeria, Moses’ family paid for him to travel to the United Kingdom as an asylum seeker at the age of 11 after his parents died in religious riots in his birth country.
Having arrived in England, Moses was subsequently placed with a foster family in South London. He has gone on to play for clubs in England, Italy, Turkey and Russia since breaking through as a teenager at Crystal Palace.
This includes spells with the likes of Chelsea, Inter Milan and Liverpool. He is currently on loan at Spartak Moscow from Chelsea and has 38 caps for Nigeria and 12 goals having previously represented England at youth level.
Whilst not adopted or fostered, Dutch footballing icon Johan Cruyff became an orphan after the death of his father at a young age. His mother’s next husband proved to become an important figure in the former Ajax and Barcelona man’s career and life away from football, despite not being his biological father.