Neymar Jr stepped onto the pitch in the 76th minute of Brazil’s 3-0 win over Scotland at the 2026 World Cup, and the internet lost its collective mind. Former Peru international Jefferson Farfan, watching from his YouTube channel ‘Satelite+’, could barely contain himself as the Santos number 10 crossed himself, looked skyward, and jogged into the attack.
What the moment didn’t do: move any meaningful needle in the crypto world that once treated Neymar like a Web3 demigod.
## The ghost of Neymar’s crypto past
Rewind to January 2022. Neymar dropped roughly $1.12 million on two Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, paying 159.99 ETH for one and 189.69 ETH for the other.
Two months before those purchases, in November 2021, Neymar had signed an exclusive licensing deal with NFTSTAR, a platform operated by The9 Limited, to create and sell digital collectibles featuring his likeness.
