Eigon Oliveira: The Neymar lookalike who's been turning heads at the Qatar World Cup

A lookalike of Brazilian star Neymar who has been turning heads with his exploits in Doha has promised to return to Qatar should Brazil reach the World Cup semi-finals.

While Neymar the footballer was set to feature in Brazil’s starting lineup for their quarter-final against South Korea after injury in the group stages, Eigon Oliveira, who calls himself ‘Ney’s Lookalike’, was leaving Doha, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Oliveira was notably busy during his time in the emirate, given his resemblance to the real Neymar; especially when he donned Brazil’s training uniform and wore similar sunglasses, hat and beard, as well as appearing to have the same tattoos.

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When he made an appearance at the Puma store in Doha, the establishment had to temporarily close as word got out and hundreds of fans gathered.

“I would like to thank the support of the security guard at the shopping centre in Qatar, Ratinho, who gave his life for his look-alike,” Eigon joked afterwards.

Eigon was also escorted from the ground by security at one World Cup match - but only after he managed to happily sign autographs and pose for photos.

Before one of the matches, reported AP, Oliveira managed to make it pitchside, as some security guards apparently thought he really was Neymar.

Oliveira now has over one million followers on Instagram and is making inroads on TikTok too thanks to most of his videos and posts going viral.

It has also been reported that he now makes a full-time job of being Neymar’s ‘lookalike’.

He was previously a waiter in Brazil where customers remarked on the resemblance to the Paris Saint-Germain player.

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“I never imagined this moment,” he said in a recent social media post.

“I’m blessed to have gotten this far with this job. I’m very thankful and I’m a fan of this guy who welcomes what I do with open arms. He changed my life in a gigantic way, giving me millions of possibilities and opportunities, and allowing me to go places and meet people that I would have never imagined going or meeting.”

Watch: Neymar lookalike turns heads in Doha