Brazil's Undisputed Star? Neymar Jr's Global Tournament Race Against Time
While Ousmane Dembele was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or in the autumn months, Neymar was lying in bed for his latest physical setback of the year - while participating in an online poker tournament.
The 33-year-old football star ultimately finished as runner-up, securing around seventy-three thousand pounds in tournament winnings.
It was some consolation on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona lift the award he had long hoped to win.
Since returning to his youth team Santos in the new year, the experienced attacker has fallen short of expectations, attracting more attention for comparable situations than for his football.
His return home after a dozen campaigns away was meant to be a chance for him to rediscover his best and, most importantly, rekindle a passion for the game that seemed lost after disappointing periods with Paris St-Germain and Al Hilal.
Conversely, it has been widely disappointing for each stakeholder.
Such is the situation that the main question being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will be part of the 2026 World Cup.
He's against the clock.
"All players have to demonstrate that they are prepared. The deadline approaches [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao wrote in his regular feature.
On midweek, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti announced his team selection for the upcoming games against South Korea and the Asian nation and, once again, Neymar was not in it.
"The Prince", as he was dubbed when welcomed back at Santos in a nod toward the king Pele, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been absent from the Selecao for 24 months.
He also remains an fitness concern for the November games, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with just a pair of friendly matches in March 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the revealing of the definitive squad for the World Cup.
"Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's undisputed star, bearing enormous expectations on his own," Brazilian icon Cafu remarked.
"But nobody wins the World Cup alone. Putting all our hopes on him at the moment is difficult because he finds it hard to even play multiple matches in a row."
'Technical exclusion raises serious questions about Neymar'
Not just has Neymar had repeated injury problems since his homecoming - he's missed 47% of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was available for selection, he was a far cry from the player who during his prime competed with the Argentine maestro and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of his several attacking returns so far, half have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's first division - a scoring contribution against a lower-league side, followed by a three goal involvements versus Inter de Limeira, all in the Sao Paulo State Championship.
As Santos battle against demotion in the Brazilian first tier, the playmaker no longer seems to be the difference maker he previously represented.
Despite that, Ancelotti has asserted that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is fit for the World Cup.
"His aim must be to be ready in June. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in autumn, November or March," the Italian told L'Equipe newspaper.
Ancelotti created local discussion last month by allegedly attempting to shield Neymar, claiming the star had been excluded from the team over physical condition issues.
But then Neymar himself disputed it, saying he "was left out for tactical decisions; it has no connection to my physical condition."
In terms of popular view, it definitely didn't help for Neymar.
"If the player we have invested our faith in to win the World Cup is excluded for technical reasons, evidently something isn't right," Cafu commented.
Can Neymar follow Ronaldo's 2002 example?
Studies from Datafolha found that the Brazilian public are split over whether Neymar should be included for his next global tournament.
With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't helped his case much with his in-game attitude either.
He seems greater frustration than usual, having confronted fans multiple times in venues - it happened in successive games in July.
The following month, the striker was left in tears after Santos suffered a 6-0 home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the heaviest defeat of his professional life.
When asked by a reporter about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he became frustrated: "This topic again, mate? I've responded to this countless times already."
The same kind of question has been directed at his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's intention was to spend five months at Santos. To what end? To regain fitness. If Neymar was able to feature, so be it," he previously explained, causing anger among supporters.
There's continuing belief, however, that Neymar's peak years aren't over and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way striker Ronaldo "Fenômeno" did in the 2002 World Cup to overcome doubt and physical setbacks to lead Brazil to the championship trophy.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend observes comparisons.
"He's a crucial player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo stated during a recent appearance with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an misrepresentation from a minority who believe he's neglecting his physical recovery.
Anyone who have been in football knows perfectly how hard it is to recover from an setback and recover form and self-belief. He's moving forward."
The Santos star has a few decisive months ahead to demonstrate that he's not the heir who abandoned the throne.
