Barcelona star Neymar takes part in PokerStars tournament in Sao Paulo

Barcelona forward Neymar tried his skills at card games over the weekend while competing in his first PokerStars tournament in Sao Paulo.

The 23-year-old, who was given extended holiday following Brazil's participation in the Copa America, competed in the tournament to raise money for his charity, the Neymar Institute.

Prior to the event at the Anhembi, Neymar was quoted by sambafoot.com as saying: "I've played tournaments but never like this.

"We will be filmed, in front of the whole world. My legs are going to shake and my heart will beat stronger. It'll be fun. Playing football is easier than a game of poker. I have already begun my concentration for the tournament."

During the event, Neymar took to Instagram to post a picture of himself gathering his chips at the poker table.

A photo posted by Nj 🇧🇷 (@neymarjr) on Jul 26, 2015 at 3:55pm PDT