Footballer Neymar Jr spotted wearing a Rolex

Neymar Jr was recently spotted wearing the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116500LN in stainless steel with a black dial — one of the most recognisable and commercially relentless watches in modern horology. For a player whose wrist game is as deliberate as his footwork, the choice lands squarely in character.

Launched at Baselworld 2016, the ref. 116500LN marked a pivotal chapter for the Daytona line. Rolex replaced the aluminium bezel insert with a black or white Cerachrom ceramic unit, offering superior scratch resistance and virtually no colour fade from UV exposure. The 40mm Oyster case houses the calibre 4130 — an in-house automatic chronograph movement with a column wheel, vertical clutch, and a 72-hour power reserve. It operates at 28,800 vph and carries a COSC chronometer certification. The black-dial version pairs subdials in a contrasting white, a layout collectors call the 'reverse panda' configuration.

From a collector standpoint, the 116500LN with black dial is arguably the single most coveted reference Rolex produces. Authorised dealer waitlists stretch years, and the secondary market has treated it with remarkable consistency. Grey-market premiums rarely dip below two times retail, and during peak demand periods in 2021–2022 the reference touched close to $30,000 on open platforms. Even as the broader market has softened, this reference holds firmer than most.

Neymar's relationship with luxury watches is well documented. The Brazilian forward, who made his name at Santos and Barcelona before joining Paris Saint-Germain, has been photographed across a wide spectrum of high-end timepieces — from Richard Mille's ultra-high-complication sports models to Patek Philippe dress references. The Daytona 116500LN, despite its stratospheric grey-market value, reads almost as a foundation piece in a collection of his scale. It signals taste without ostentation.

At UK list price the Rolex Daytona ref. 116500LN sits at approximately £9,550, translating to roughly $12,000 USD at retail — a figure almost academic given its practical inaccessibility at authorised dealers. On the secondary market, expect to pay considerably more for a clean example, particularly the black-dial variant Neymar is wearing here.