- Facebook Gaming recently signed football legend Neymar Jr
- The footballer has streamed before and says gaming is one of his longest passions
- The contract is perhaps an attempt for Facebook Gaming to catch up to its competitors
Facebook Gaming has signed football superstar Neymar Jr as a content creator, aiming to win a leg up against the likes of Twitch and YouTube Gaming.
Facebook Signs Neymar Jr as Content Creator
Twitch remains the most popular platform for streamers, followed by YouTube Gaming, which still has a lot of ground to gain in order to reach Twitch’s numbers. Considering that, Facebook Gaming is even more behind the rest. Knowing this, the company has decided to sign to reach out to some of the world’s most popular stars. This is why Facebook Gaming recently signed football legend Neymar Jr as a content creator, posting the news on Twitter.
The Brazilian football legend has a long and shining history on the world soccer scene. Playing for Paris Saint-Germain, he has helped his team win the French Cup. Having also played for Fc Barcelona, the footballer has led his team to victory, winning the Champions League and The Spanish Cup with them.
All of these achievements have made Neymar one of the world's most-followed athletes Along with his massive Facebook audience, Neymar also has over 166 million followers on Instagram and 55.4 million on Twitter. Facebook Gaming surely wants to tap into that massive following by signing the Brazilian footballer.
Neymar’s Passion for Games
Neymar’s signing did not come just because of his large online following. The footballer has been known to stream games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. He was even banned from Twitch at one point. He is not the first popular athlete to switch to professional gaming, as another football player, this time American, Kenny Vaccaro retired to create a Halo esports team.
His first stream was on December 17. Neymar expressed his excitement about the deal in a message on his Facebook page, saying that gaming has always been one of his biggest passions, and he cannot wait to start streaming. The footballer’s likeness even got into Fortnite as a skin earlier this year.
Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook have been recently clamoring to sign famous personalities in order to boost their viewership numbers. Twitch and YouTube often “trade” content creators, which are already well-established in gaming circles. This is quite evident in the mass exodus of streamers from Twitch to YouTube that’s been happening in recent months. Facebook has been behind the curve, but perhaps this is the reason why the company is looking for popular faces outside the gaming sphere.
