Neymar is known for being one of the best footballers in the world, but his sister Rafaella is known for something else entirely – the “birthday curse”. Almost every year, on, or around, Rafaella’s birthday, March 11, Neymar, coincidentally, picks up an injury or a suspension.
Many believe that Neymar misses these games purposefully so he can go and celebrate with his sibling.
Is there any truth to this? Well, let’s take a look at Neymar’s recent history around March 11.
Neymar sister ‘birthday curse’ explained
The so-called curse began in 2015, when Neymar picked up a yellow card on February 28th against Granada that caused him to miss the game on March 8 against Rayo Vallecano, just three days before his sister’s birthday.
It was a similar story in 2016, with Neymar missing a game on March 6due to another suspsension due to the accumulation of yellow cards in La Liga.
The curse continued in 2017 when Neymar suffered an injury that ruled him out of action in early March, while 2018 was a similar story as he missed the remainder of the 2017/18 season with a metatarsal fracture.
In 2019, that same issue cropped up, although he was able to return to action for PSG in April this time around.
Believers in this curse were in for a shock in 2020 as Neymar actually played on his sister’s birthday, scoring a vital goal against Borussia Dortmund on March 11 in the Champions League.
However, many were quick to point out that Neymar couldn’t have celebrated with his sister back in Brazil at this point due to the impending lockdown amid the pandemic.
The curse returned in 2021 as the Brazilian missed a 2-1 loss to Nantes on March 14 with a muscle injury, while he did play throughout March for PSG in 2022.
This time around, Neymar has just picked up an ankle injury, and it looks as though he will be out of action for quite some time, including the remainder of March.
Is the curse real?
Many fans believe the curse is real, and, to be fair, missing action in March for seven of the past nine years is quite the coincidence.
However, ankle injuries and broken metatarsals are just bad luck, and while Neymar may have a good relationship with his sister and enjoy celebrating her birthday, you don’t get to the top of this sport unless you put football above everything else.
To us, this looks like nothing more than an urban legend and bad luck.
It remains to be seen if the curse will continue in the future, but one thing is for sure; Rafaella’s birthday will always be a date to watch for Neymar and his fans.
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