Neymar has revealed how he copes with sustained boos from his own supporters at Paris Saint-Germain, and outlined his hopes for the Qatar 2022 World Cup with Brazil later this year.

The Selecao star has come under fire at club level this term, and has often found himself a scapegoat for vocal sections of the team's fanbase over their European failings, in an extraordinarily combative relationship.

Now, the Brazilian has spoken on how he deals with the issue, as well as touching on the amplification of the problem produced by social media.

Of course nobody wants to be booed, even more if you're playing at home," Neymar told Flamengo player Diego Ribas in a live discussion. "It's sad, but I had to find strength somewhere.

"I remembered all people who helped me get to where I am now, and I try to play for them. I can't let myself be affected by boos and let my family down. There are matches when you can play for the fans, when everything's alright. Then there's booing, and I hold myself to my family.

" Social media... I guess it hurts more than it helps. Because if you play well and go read about it there, it's all good news and smiles. But when you don't play well, it's not good for your head. If there's nobody to help you overcome these times, it's pretty tough. Social media is a very dangerous thing nowadays."

With another Ligue 1 title to his name now, Neymar's next chance to land major silverware will be at the end of the year, when Brazil head to Qatar 2022 - and with two prior World Cup tournaments under his belt now, the Selecao star is determined to be third time lucky."I really wanted to win the Champions League for PSG this time, but unfortunately we couldn't," he added. "Now I want to finish 2022 with the World Cup title."

"I'm preparing myself both physically and mentally so that everyone goes well, and we have a 'Brazilian World Cup' this time. I'll give my life for it, I've played it two times now and I know how it works. If you're not ready, the opportunity will go away, so I can't let it escape me."

Following the conclusion of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Round of 16 First Leg, we can presume the potential entrants into the UCL quarter-finals, whereas the fate of some match-ups will be decided in the second leg.

Liverpool, the league phase leaders, managed a hard-fought 1-0 win against PSG; whereas ten-men Barcelona snatched a narrow 1-0 victory over Benfica. Real Madrid emerged victorious by 2-1 in the Madrid Derby against Atletico Madrid.

On the contrary, Bayern Munich thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 and Arsenal ran riot over PSV, winning 7-1 to practically secure their advancement to the next round of the competition.

Read Also | UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Knockout Stage Draw: Round of 16, Quarter-Final, and Semi-Final

UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Round of 16 First Leg Round Up

Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa

Aston Villa salvaged two late goals to triumph 3-1 over Club Brugge in the first leg of the RO16 tie at the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium.

Leon Bailey opened the account for Aston Villa in only three minutes into the game. Club Brugge quickly answered with Maxim De Cuyper scoring in the 12th minute. 

However, Bruges defender Brandon Mechele scored a cheeky own goal to hand Villa the lead in the 82nd minute. Following that, Marco Asensio scored from the spot in the 88th minute, securing a two-goal lead for Aston Villa in the first leg.

Real Also | Club Brugge vs Aston Villa Highlights UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Round of 16: Aston Villa will face Club Brugge in the second leg with a two-goal lead

Real Madrid 2-1 Atlético Madrid

Real Madrid impressively managed a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the 'Madrid Derby' against Atletico Madrid, in one of the biggest fixtures of UCL 2024-25 RO16 this season.

Rodrygo scored a spectacular goal from Los Blancos in the fourth minute of the game, with Julian Alvarez canceling it out with another world-class strike in the 32nd minute.

However, Brahim Diaz scored the winner for Real Madrid in the 55th minute to hand Atletico a one-goal deficit ahead of the second leg.

Real Also | Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid Highlights UEFA Champions League 2024-25: Real Madrid secure narrow victory over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Round of 16

PSV 1-7 Arsenal

Arsenal ran demolition over PSV, crushing the Dutch side 7-1 in the first leg at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Netherlands, practically securing their quarter-final tickets.

Jurrien Timber opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 18th minute, as Ethan Nwaneri doubled the lead in the 21st minute. Mikel Merino extended the lead in the 31st minutes, but PSV pulled off a goal from Noa Lang's spotkick in the 43rd minute.

Arsenal's scoring spree continued in the second half, with Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard scoring consecutively in the 47th and the 48th minute. Odegaard completed his brace in the 73rd minute, and Ricardo Calafiori put the final coffin on the nail in the 85th minute.

Borussia Dortmund 1-1 LOSC

Borussia Dortmund and Lille OSC shared an exciting 1-1 stalemate in the first leg at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, with everything to play for in the second leg.

Karim Adeyemi netted an absolute banger in the 22nd minute of the match. Following that, Borussia found the equalizer in the 68th minute with Haraldsson tapping the ball home.

Feyenoord 0-2 Inter Milan

Inter Milan earned a dominant first-leg lead over Feyenoord, winning 2-0 in Rotterdam to manage a two-goal cushion ahead of the reverse fixture.

Marcus Thuram found the breakthrough for Inter in the 38th minute with a volleyed strike. Shortly after the break, Lautaro Martinez doubled the Nerazzurri's lead with a superb strike, also becoming Inter's all-time leading goalscorer in UCL.

The Italian outfit were close to adding a third goal from the spot, but Piotr Zieliński's penalty was well saved by Feyenoord custodian Timon Wellenreuther.

Bayern Munich 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen

Bayern Munich eased past Bayer Leverkusen in the first-ever all-German tie in the UCL, beating the Bundesliga counterparts 3-0 at the Allianz Arena.

Harry Kane opened the account for Bayern only nine minutes into the game, scoring a powerful header. In the 54th minute, Jamal Musiala extended the lead as he slashed it home from a rebound.

Leverkusen defender Nordi Mukiele was shown a second yellow and was sent off in the 62nd minute, resulting in the third goal for Bayern. Harry Kane completed his brace in the 75th minute by scoring from the penalty spot to hand Bayern a comfortable victory.

Read Also | FC Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen Highlights UEFA Champions League 2024-25: Kane's Brace leads Bayern to dominant 3-0 Win over ten-men Leverkusen

Benfica 0-1 Barcelona

Keeper Wojciech Szczęsny's trusted gloves resisted the fall of a ten-men FC Barcelona against Benfica in the first leg at Estádio da Luz, leading them to a slender 1-0 victory.

Defender Pau Cubarsi was sent off in the 22nd minute of the game, following a straight red card. Barcelona were down to ten men, but Wojciech Szczęsny became unbreakable beneath the sticks, making a massive eight saves on the way.

The only goal of the match came off Raphinha's magical feet, as the Brazilian found the back of the net with a sublime long-ranger strike that went past Trubin through the left-bottom corner.

PSG 0-1 Liverpool

It was another Champions League classic at Parc des Princes as Liverpool salvaged a narrow 1-0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in an electric encounter.

Liverpool custodian Alisson Becker became absolute impregnable against continuous efforts from PSG attackers, especially Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Alisson was only beaten once in the 20th minute, when a marvellous curler from Kvaratskhelia ended up in the net, but was cancelled for offside.

Alisson made nine saves in the whole game, whereas Liverpool earned the winning goal in the 87th minute as Harvey Elliot fired his strike past Donnarumma, only 47 seconds after coming off the bench.

Read Also | Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool Highlights UEFA Champions League 2024-25 | Alisson puts up a masterclass in Paris; Elliot's late strike sinks a ruthless PSG

The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) has announced a preliminary list of 52 players called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches against Colombia on March 21 and Argentina on March 26. 

This list includes former Barcelona forward Neymar Jr. and former Chelsea forward Oscar, both of whom are returning to the national team after a long time.

Next week, Brazil national team's head coach Dorival Junior will announce the final squad of 23 players.

Full Players List:

Goalkeepers:

•  Alisson (Liverpool, England),
• Bento (Al-Nassr, Saudi Arabia),
• Ederson (Manchester City, England),
• Hugo Souza (Corinthians),
• Lucas Perry (Lyon, France),
•  Weverton (Palmeiras).

Defenders:

•  Alessandro (Lille, France),
• Beraldo (Paris Saint-Germain, France),
• Danilo (Flamengo), Fabricio Bruno (Cruzeiro),
• Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal, England),
• Leo Ortiz (Flamengo),
• Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain, France),
• Murillo (Nottingham Forest, England).

Full-backs: 

• Abner (Lyon, France),
• Alex Sandro (Flamengo),
• Alex Telles (Botafogo),
• Dodo (Fiorentina, Italy),
•  Douglas Santos (Zenit, Russia),
• Guilherme Arana (Atletico Mineiro),
• Wanderson (Monaco, France),
• Wesley (Flamengo).

Midfielders: 

• Alisson (São Paulo),
• Andre (Wolverhampton, England),
• Andreas Pereira (Fulham, England),
• Andrey Santos (Strasbourg, France),
• Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle, England),
• Ederson (Atalanta, Italy),
• Gerson (Flamengo),
• João Gomes (Wolverhampton, England),
• Joelinton (Newcastle, England),
• Lucas Moura (São Paulo),
• Lucas Paquetá (West Ham, England),
• Matheus Cunha (Wolverhampton, England),
• Neymar (Santos),
• Oscar (São Paulo).

Forwards:

•  Antony (Real Betis, Spain),
• Bruno Henrique (Flamengo),
• Endrick (Real Madrid, Spain),
• Estevão (Palmeiras),
• Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal, England),
•  Galeno (Al-Ahli, Saudi Arabia),
• Igor Jesus (Botafogo),
•  Igor Paixão (Feyenoord, Netherlands),
• João Pedro (Brighton, England),
• Luis Enrique (Zenit, Russia),
• Raphinha (Barcelona, Spain),
• Rodrygo (Real Madrid, Spain),
• Samuel Lino (Atletico Madrid, Spain),
• Savinho (Manchester City, England),
• Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid, Spain), 
• Yuri Alberto (Corinthians)

Many Players have experienced taking the UEFA Champions League match ball home. But few have done it multiple times. Listening to the UEFA Champions League anthem on the pitch while being in the starting lineup is the dream of every other kid football fan. But among the dreamers, few players go on to make further history in the game.

Players who leave a lasting impression through their quality, be it defending, goalkeeping, or even scoring goals. In this article, we will have a look at the players with the most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League history.

10. Harry Kane| 2 Hat-tricks| Tottenham Hotspurs & Bayern Munich:

First Hat-trick | Tottenham Hotspurs:

On 26th September 2017, Harry Kane hit his first hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League against APOEL FC, Tottenham Hotspurs won that match 3-0 in the group stage and Kane finished the group stage joint second in the top scorers chart with six goals.

Second Hat-trick | FC Bayern Munich:

On 18th September 2024, Harry Kane hit his second hat-trick against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League. Kane scored 4 goals and Bayern Munich won that match 9-2 at Allianz Arena in Munich. 

9. Kylian Mbappe | 3 Hat-tricks | Paris Saint-Germain & Real Madrid:

First Hat-trick | Paris Saint-Germain:

On 23 October 2019, Mbappe scored his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick against Club Brugge. Mbappe bagged three goals and Paris Saint-Germain won 5-0 against Club Brugge. 

Second Hat-trick | Paris Saint-Germain:

On 17 February 2017, Kylian Mbappe scored his second UEFA Champions League Round of 16 hat-tricks against the mighty FC Barcelona in Parc des Princes. Mbappe scored 3 goals and Moises Keane scored the last goal against Barcelona and they won 4-1 against the Blaugranes.

Third Hat-trick | Real Madrid: 

On 20th February 2025, Kylian Mbappe scored his third UEFA Champions League career Hat-trick against Manchester City in the League phase Knockout's second leg. With Mbappe's hat trick, Real Madrid beat the mighty Manchester City 3-1 and aggregated 6-3, and secured a spot in the Round of 16.

8. Neymar Jr. | 3 Hat-tricks | FC Barcelona & Paris Saint-Germain:

First Hat-trick | FC Barcelona:

On December 11, 2013, Neymar Jr. scored his first-ever hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League at Camp Nou in Spain. In that Lionel Messi was injured, but Neymar stepped up and scored a hat-trick against Celtic FC and FC Barcelona triumphed over a dominant 6-1 win against Celtic FC.

Second Hat-trick | Paris Saint-Germain:

Neymar Junior scored his second UEFA Champions League hat-trick against Red Star Belgrade on 4 October 2018. The Brazilian scored his second Champions League hat-trick with Paris Saint-Germain.

Third Hat-trick | Paris Saint-Germain:

Neymar Junior scored the third UEFA Champions League hat-trick against Istanbul Basaksehir. With the help of the Brazilian wizard's hat-trick, PSG triumphed in a 5-1 win over Istanbul in Parc des Princes in the UEFA Champions League group stage on 9 December 2020.

7. Filippo Inzaghi | 3 Hat-tricks | Juventus & Paris Saint-Germain:

First Hat-trick | Juventus:

Filippo Inzaghi scored his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick against Dynamo Kyiv. Filippo Inzaghi became the first Juventus player to score a UEFA Champions League hat-trick when he found the back of the net on three occasions against Dynamo Kyiv in March 1998. Juventus won that match with a comfortable 4-1 scoreline.

Second Hat-trick | Juventus:

On 13 September 2000, Filippo Inzaghi netted his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick against Hamburg. Filippo Inzaghi's hat-trick rescued Juventus as an astonishing Champions League match against Hamburg finished 4-4 in Germany. Juventus led 3-1 at one stage before falling 4-3 behind and it needed a late penalty from Inzaghi to rescue a point.

Third Hat-trick | AC Milan:

The former Italian international scored his third UEFA Champions League hat-trick in his iconic AC Milan Jersey against Deportivo La Coruna. With the help of his hat-trick AC Milan won with a comfortable 4-0 scoreline in the 2002-03 season.

6. Mario Gomez | 3 Hat-tricks | FC Bayern Munich: 

Mario Gomez scored his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick against the Romanian side CFR Cluj in November 2010. Almost a year to the day later, the German forward scored a match-winning hat-trick against Napoli to seal a 3-2 win. 

5. Luiz Adriano | 3 Hat-tricks | Shakhtar Donetsk:

Luiz Adriano had registered his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick two years prior when he netted three times in Shakhtar's 5-2 win over Danish side Nordsjaelland in November 2012. Luiz Adriano netted his second UEFA Champions League hat-trick against BATE Borisov in the 2014 season. The Brazilian recorded his third hat-trick against BATE as he inspired Shakhtar to a 5-0 win.

4. Karim Benzema | 4 Hat-tricks | Real Madrid:

Karim Benzema netted his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick for Real Madrid against Auxerre in December 2010. The Frenchman would wait five years for his second as he scored three times in an 8-0 win over Malmo. 

The Frenchman would wait five years for his second as he scored three times in an 8-0 win over Malmo, scoring three against PSG in March 2022, Benzema recorded his fourth UEFA Champions League hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Chelsea in April that year.

3. Robert Lewandowski | 6 Hat-tricks | Dortmund, Bayern Munich, & Barcelona:

The only player in UEFA Champions League history to score the hat-trick for three different clubs.

Robert Lewandowski truly announced himself on the world stage with a four-goal haul for Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid in April 2013, he scored his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick in Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid. 

The Polish forward had already agreed on terms with Bayern at that point and Lewandowski recorded four hat-tricks for the German giants when opposing Dinamo Zagreb, Red Star Belgrade, Benfica, and lastly Red Bull Salzburg.

A move to Barcelona in 2022 brought Lewandowski his sixth UEFA Champions League hat-trick against Viktoria Plzen.

2. Lionel Messi | 8 Hat-tricks | FC Barcelona:

Lionel Messi scored a UEFA Champions League hat-trick in five consecutive calendar years from 2010. He scored his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick against Arsenal in 2010. The Argentine Talisman became the first player in the competition's history to score five goals in a single UEFA Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.

The former Barcelona legend scored other six UEFA Champions League hat-tricks against Ajax, APOEL Nicosia, Celtic, Manchester City, and PSV Eindhoven, a record equaled by Cristiano Ronaldo just six months later.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo | 8 Hat-tricks | Real Madrid & Juventus:

Cristiano Ronaldo never bagged a UEFA Champions League hat-trick for Manchester United. The Real Madrid legend netted his first hat-trick in the competition against Ajax in 2012. Ronaldo netted seven UEFA Champions League hat-tricks while he was in Real Madrid, the seven club names were - AFC Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk, VfL Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich, Atlético de Madrid, Galatasaray, and Malmo FF.

Although the most memorable one came against Atlético de Madrid the second time. This time in the colors of Juventus. Juventus progressed 3-2 on aggregate to reach the quarterfinals.

Neymar Jr. was at his best again when he scored an Olympico goal for Santos against against Inter de Limeira in the Paulista Série A1. The Brazilian legend scored once and assisted twice within first half as Santos won the match by 3-0. 

Read Also | From Santos to the World: Neymar's Journey is football's greatest "Could Have Been"

What is an Olympico goal?

An Olympico goal gets scored when the a direct corner gets converted into a goal. Neymar's inswinging corner defeated and outfoxed the goalkeeper and went straight in after hitting the crossbar. 

Read Also | Happy Birthday Neymar: Career highlights of the Brazilian football star

Neymar scores an Olymico

Neymar, known for his outstanding skill on the football field, rejoined Santos after a not-so-great spell at Al-Hilal, where he spent most of his time being injured. After regaining full fitness, Neymar was seen at his best. 

In his away fixture for Santos, Neymar was getting boowed by the Inter de Limeira fans as he went to take the corner. He then sent an insiwinging corner to silence the crowd and taunted them by a cold celebration. 

NEYMAR REALLY HIT AN OLÍMPICO.

🤯🤯🤯

(via @TNTSportsBR)pic.twitter.com/JRW5pAGDYT

— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 23, 2025

Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Club Brugge, Feyenoord, PSG, PSV and Real Madrid qualified for the Round of 16 from the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Knockout phase play-offs.

Real Madrid thrashed Manchester City by 3-1, PSV stunned Juventus with the same scoreline while PSG scored 7 times against Brest and Bayern Munich played out a 1-1 draw against Celtic in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Knockout phase play-offs.

Read Also |  2024-25 UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw: Where is it, when is it, and teams' pairings?

UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Knockout phase play-offs Round-Up

Milan 1-1 Feyenoord (agg: 1-2)

Italian football giants and one of the most successful teams in UEFA Champions League history AC Milan were knocked out of this season's tournament after Dutch club Feyenoord defeated them by 1-2 on aggregate. 

Feyenoord were leading by 1-0 after the first leg and then they ensured a 1-1 draw to progress to the round of 16 for the first time in their history. 

Santiago Giménez scored early for Milan but against a 10-men Milan side Julián Carranza came off the bench to seal an equaliser with a stunning header. 

Benfica 3-3 Monaco (agg: 4-3)

Orkun Kökçü scored a late winner for Benfica to progress to the next round after beating Monaco by 4-3 on aggregate. 

Kerem Aktürkoğlu gave Benfica the early edge only to see Takumi Minamino and Eliesse Ben Seghir put Monaco back on level terms. 

Vangelis Pavlidis then gave Benfica the lead but George Ilenikhena levelled things again. Kokcu then sealed the winner for Benfica with a later goal.

Atalanta 1-3 Club Brugge (agg: 2-5)

Chemsdine Talbi's brace and Ferran Jutglà's stunning long-range goal took Club Brugge to the round of 16 with ease. 

Ademola Lookman scored the lone goal for Atalanta. However, he also saw one penalty saved by Simon Mignolet as well. 

Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (agg: 3-2) 

Bayern Munich narrowly passed the Celtic test with a late goal from Alphonso Davies. Nicolas Kuhn scored the goal for Celtic in the one-hour mark and when they were nearly close to taking Bayern Munich to extra time, Davies took the German Champions home.

B. Dortmund 0-0 Sporting CP (agg: 3-0)

Despite a goalless draw at their home, Borussia Dortmund went past their Portuguese visitors with ease, after a solid 3-0 lead from the first leg. 

In the second leg, Rui Silva was the hero for the Portuguese team who made multiple saves to deny the Dortmund players. 

Paris 7-0 Brest (agg: 10-0)

PSG thrashed their Ligue 1 opponent Brest via a 7-0 victory in the second leg to manage a 10-0 win on aggregate. 

PSG became the first team to have seven different scorers in a single match. Bradley Barcola, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Désiré Doué, Nuno Mendes, Gonçalo Ramos and Senny Mayulu scored for the French giants.

PSV 3-1 Juventus, aet (agg: 4-3)

🚨🇪🇺 GOAL | PSV 3-1 Juventus | Ryan Flamingo

RYAN FLAMINGO MAKES IT THREE FOR PSV IN THE 98TH MINUTE OF OVERTIME !!!!!!!!!!!!! 4-3 ON AGGREGATE !!!!!!!pic.twitter.com/n9Y0TXCmmo

— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) February 19, 2025

PSV stunned the Italian giants to qualify for the round of 16. This is their first Champions League knockout win since 2007. 

Ryan Flamingo scored an extra-time goal to nullify Timothy Weah's stunning goal. 

Ivan Perisic and Ismael Saibari scored the other two goals for the Dutch club.

Real Madrid 3-1 Man City (agg: 6-3)

Real Madrid proved why they are the 15 times Champions League winner as they eased past a struggling Manchester City to reach the Round of 16. 

Kylian Mbappe scored a stunning hat-trick to take the defending champions to the next round in front of their home crowd. Nico González scored a late consolation goal for City.