When Brazil take on Serbia in the Lusail Stadium in Qatar tonight, the South American team’s star player, Neymar, will have a particularly supportive ensemble cheering him on in the stands.
The 30-year-old striker, widely regarded as the finest Brazilian footballer of his generation, will be hoping to lead his team to World Cup glory before Christmas arrives…with his exuberant younger sister Rafaella Santos, 26, leading the family chants.
Indeed, the impassioned football fan, who’s likely to be joined by Neymar Sr, the footballer’s 57-year-old father, once celebrated a goal her brother scored against Costa Rica so hard, that she dislocated her shoulder.
Described as extremely close to her older brother, growing up together in a modest home in Sao Paulo, a recent photo of the pair was captioned ‘love doing life with you’, followed by a love heart emoji.
And when Neymar signed for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 in a move worth 222 million euros, his sister followed her brother to the French capital.The influencer, who promotes various products including a vitamin brand, has a staggering 5.7million followers – although her big brother has a whopping 183 million global fans on the social media platform.
Both siblings are currently single, with Neymar splitting from his long-term love Bruna Biancardi in the summer after dating for just over a year.
And it’s thought that Rafaella is also single, after her relationship with Fortaleza football star Lucas Lima stalled.
Although there are rumours the couple were reunited in the autumn, there is little sign of him on her social media accounts.
Before that, Neymar’s sister dated the man once dubbed the ‘new Neymar’. Rafaella was romantically linked to Inter Milan and Brazil striker nicknamed Gabigol, a close friend of her brother.
Gabigol and Neymar have grown up in football together – both were on Santos’ books as youngsters and both are now stars of the national team.
The doting sister has long since been known for her public displays of affection for her big brother; when she was a teenager and he had burst onto the world’s football stage, she once wrote: ‘My heart is yours, my love is yours, my smile is yours, my day, my night, my longing, my best company.’And in 2015, she even got inked to prove her dedication to her footballer brother – by having his eyes tattooed on her left arm.
The design was revealed by tattoo artist Adao Rosa, who took to his Instagram page to post a couple of snaps.
‘This is the tattoo that I have done on my loving friend @rafaella, a homage to her idol and her brother @neymarjr,’ Rosa wrote.
And the sibling love is mutual, Neymar once shared a photo of the pair drinking wine that read: ‘Wine + Sister = Heart [emoji]’
Meanwhile Neymar also got her face inked on his arm.
Indeed, the Brazilian forward made headlines after, claiming injury, he attended his sister’s birthday parties four years in a row – despite her big day falling mid-season in March.
It even began to be noticed at Barcelona that Neymar would be suspended or rested for the game closest to the celebration.
