Neymar guides Brazil’s equalizer from the bench, but his crypto playbook tells a different story

Neymar didn’t touch the ball once during Brazil’s World Cup opener against Morocco on June 13. He didn’t need to. The 34-year-old forward, sidelined with a Grade 2 calf injury sustained in May, reportedly spent the match doing what he does best when he can’t play: coaching from the bench.

His tactical instructions apparently helped. Vinícius Júnior buried the equalizer during a chaotic scramble in the Moroccan penalty area, with six Brazilian players crowding the box at the moment of impact. The match ended 1-1, a result that keeps Brazil’s group stage hopes alive while raising familiar questions about Neymar’s role in a tournament he may barely participate in.

The match, the injury, and the sideline general

Neymar’s inclusion in Brazil’s World Cup squad was itself a statement. The calf injury he picked up in mid-May was serious enough to require constant treatment at the team’s base in New Jersey leading up to the tournament. Grade 2 injuries typically involve partial tearing of muscle fibers, meaning recovery timelines are measured in weeks, not days.

Neymar’s crypto portfolio: a different kind of injury

In January 2022, Neymar dropped approximately $1.12 million on two Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs. At the time, BAYC was the blue-chip brand of the NFT world. The NFT market has contracted dramatically since its 2021-2022 peak, with floor prices for even the most prestigious collections falling by orders of magnitude.

His foray into the space actually started a couple months earlier. In November 2021, he signed an exclusive licensing deal with NFTSTAR, a platform operated by The9 Limited, to create digital collectibles bearing his likeness.

Unofficial meme tokens bearing Neymar’s name still exist on various blockchains. Their combined valuations sit under $3,000.

What this means for investors watching the sports-crypto intersection

The absence of any official Neymar-branded crypto asset tied to the World Cup is notable. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, fan tokens and athlete-linked digital products were everywhere, with exchanges spending billions on stadium naming rights and sponsorship deals. No official crypto protocol or token was associated with Neymar’s bench contributions against Morocco. No fan token spiked on the equalizer. No NFT drop commemorated Vinícius Júnior’s goal.

The unofficial meme tokens trading at sub-$3,000 valuations represent the tail end of that cycle. They’re essentially novelty items with negligible liquidity. Anyone treating them as investment vehicles is confusing memorabilia with financial instruments.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.