But he is also one who is yet to play outside his (traditionally underappreciated) home league, and whose greatest moments have generally come in tournaments such as Sao Paulo's State Championship, while Serie A form has been at times intermittent. In Brazil colours too, some outstanding displays have been blurred by all too many average or mediocre performances, possibly a symptom of two years of meaningless friendlies diluting preparations following the 2011 Copa America.
For the Catalan giants, however, this does not seem a problem. As the club's official website confirms, the 21-year-old forward will be completing a move worth an estimated €28 million for 55 percent of his contract rights, leaving almost half of Neymar's "ownership" firmly in his own hands. It is an astronomical fee for such a small cut, but in its own way it tells us exactly why Brazil, despite poor recent form, will still be a force to reckon with at the coming World Cup.
Neymar is just one of Brazil's crop of skilful kids Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
The extravagantly styled youngster is one of the better-known examples of what is a brilliant group of youngsters currently at coach Luiz Felipe Scolari's disposal. Some of those prospects, such as Lucas Moura (PSG), Oscar (Chelsea) and Casemiro (Real Madrid), have made the move to Europe over the last 12 months, following the usual route of Brazilian wonderkids who seek new climes early.
Others, though—Ganso and Leandro Damiao among them—have opted to stick closer to home. Wherever they are based, this mixture of talent on both sides of the Atlantic was good enough for previous trainer Mano Menezes to put his faith in, and it is sufficiently talented to convince 2002 World Cup winner Felipao to gun for youth in the imminent Confederations Cup test.
While the squad selections from Scolari and his predecessor have been somewhat daring over the last three years, the opposite is sadly true of what we have seen on the field; and this has been Brazil's true weakness. Menezes took the chance on the likes of Neymar, Ganso and Lucas to provide the magic, only to hamstring his kids by placing them in a direct, counter-attacking system that made far too much use of the flanks and could have come straight from 2010's failure Dunga.
In his first few matches in charge, Felipao has done nothing to suggest that he can or even wants to stop the rot. The old guard, Kaka and Ronaldinho, were called back from the international wilderness by the veteran coach and showed exactly why they were placed there with some tepid performances, as the Selecao started Scolari's reign with an awful run of five matches and one win, against Bolivia.
Nothing if not flexible, the trainer quickly consigned the pair to the dustbin once more, but the dull, uninspiring football one does not usually associate with Brazil remains, the illness still to be cured.
This paradox is what we are left with just over 12 months from the start of the 2014 World Cup, as Neymar and Co. prepare for the now-traditional Confederations Cup warm-up on home turf.
Take a look down the squad list, as those brilliant young talents named above rub shoulders with some of the best in the world, the likes of Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Dani Alves and Hernanes, and there should be no feasible way in which this team cannot be considered a strong favourite to lift their sixth Jules Rimet trophy.
To do this, though, there is one key. The coach, be it Felipao or whoever, must get out of the way and let his charges play the football that comes most naturally. It is by abandoning the cautious counter mentality of Menezes and Dunga and reviving a Brazil team that revels in the control of the ball and the mastery of its players in dominating its passage across the field—a team that attacks with numbers and plays to win—that glory can return to South America's largest nation.
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