Business

While many soccer brands have been around since the early 1900s, jersey and individual player sponsorship slowly emerged in the mid-century. Iconic European companies like Umbro and Adidas were early player favorites but, in recent years, global behemoth Nike has set their sights on becoming the biggest brand in soccer. Last year, the American company put out one of the best soccer commercials which included some of the world’s most popular players like Ronaldo, Neymar and Rooney.

El Clasico is two weeks away, but La Liga leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid cannot get lost in the drum-up toward the league's biggest match. Both face formidable opponents on Sunday, as Barcelona welcomes Villarreal to Camp Nou while Real Madrid travels to Sevilla.  

Barcelona will look to the their dynamic duo — Neymar and Luis Suarez — to continue their goal-scoring spree since Lionel Messi’s injury last month. Neymar leads La Liga with nine goals, while his Uruguayan colleague sits right behind him with eight.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the boss. He is the boss of you. He is the boss of your boss. He is the boss of everyone, with the possible exception of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is also the boss.

What makes a man the boss of everyone? Owning a $320,000 car and sitting on it like it's no big deal. 

Most kids, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, will give you a different answer every time you ask them. Not Lionel Messi though. He wanted to be a footballer.

"I've never thought of any other job."

Wouldn't we all like to say that? Some of us grow up wanting do do only one thing from a very young age. Very few of us actually get to become that thing, and certainly the odds are against it.

The NWSL has grown by one more team. Earlier today, Orlando City SC announced the formation of a sister club called the Orlando Pride. The NWSL Orlando team will begin play in 2016, and will be the 10th team in the league.

Introducing Orlando Pride, starting @NWSL play in 2016. pic.twitter.com/aUrLQDmGu4

Neymar is on the fast track to become one of the richest athletes in the world. He's young, he's talented, he's marketable (which is a roundabout way of saying he's good-looking). His contract is already worth a lot and will be worth more in the coming years. He makes a ton in endorsements, and is sure to continue that trend. But how much is Neymar's net worth right now?

Neymar Net Worth

Neymar's net worth is about $60 million (€52,710,182.40)

We thought he was in the clear. We really did. The Lionel Messi tax evasion case moved forward Thursday with the news that a request from the prosecutors on the case to drop the charges against Messi had been denied by the judge trying the case, the BBC reported.

While Lionel Messi will certainly be disappointed with the knee injury suffered against Las Palmas late last month, there is at least some silver lining in his personal life. Spanish prosecutors have dropped charges of tax fraud against the Argentine phenom. His father – Jorge Messi – however, was not as fortunate. For Messi charges dropped; for his father the hammer might drop.

It will come as no surprise to even the greenest of soccer fans that, while money can’t buy you love, it can certainly buy you a solid full-back or a game-changing winger with quicksilver in his heels and an eye for goal. And a lot of money (£5.13bn or $7.91bn to be precise), spread across the Premier League’s 20 clubs, can buy a lot of quality players – and, in turn, a bigger and better Premier League TV deal – or so conventional logic would have us believe.

For Pete's sake, Neymar, do your taxes.

The Brazilian striker has had assets totalling $47.75 million frozen by a Brazilian court due to tax evasion charges. 

Neymar makes about $14 million in salary and $17 million in endorsements. That is enough money for someone to live on even if he pays his taxes.