Neymar Sr was also a professional footballer although not quite on the global recognition scale as his son. He has though become integral to the direction of his career. It was while playing for Santos that Neymar attracted attention from all of Europe's big clubs, and his father was quick to profit even then. He charged Barcelona £9million for just having an option to sign his son in 2011 and then commanded another £35million for bringing an agreed transfer date forward by a year to 2013.