Brazil's Unquestioned Superstar? Neymar Jr's Global Tournament Race Against Time
While the French winger received the 2025 Ballon d'Or in late September, Neymar was receiving treatment for his third injury of the year - simultaneously engaging in an virtual card tournament.
The veteran Brazilian ace ultimately finished as runner-up, earning around £73,800 in prize money.
It was partial comfort on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona lift the award he had consistently dreamed to win.
After returning to his boyhood club Santos in January, the experienced attacker has fallen short of expectations, attracting more attention for episodes like this than for his football.
His return home after 12 seasons away was intended as a chance for him to rediscover his best and, most importantly, revive a love of football that seemed diminished after disappointing periods with PSG and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been widely disappointing for everyone concerned.
This reflects the situation that the main question being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will be part of the upcoming global tournament.
He's against the clock.
"All players have to demonstrate that they are fit. The time is passing [for him]," Brazilian legend Tostao stated in his regular feature.
On midweek, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti revealed his squad for the forthcoming matches against Korea Republic and Japan and, yet again, Neymar was not in it.
"The Prince", as he was nicknamed when welcomed back at Santos in a nod toward the legend Pelé, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been absent from the national team for 24 months.
He also remains an fitness concern for the November games, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with only two friendly matches in March 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the announcement of the definitive squad for the World Cup.
"Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's unquestioned talisman, carrying massive pressure on his own," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu remarked.
"But nobody wins the World Cup alone. Placing all our hopes on him at the moment is difficult because he has difficulty to even play multiple matches in a row."
'Technical exclusion raises serious questions about Neymar'
Not only has Neymar had multiple fitness issues since his return to Brazil - he's been absent for 47% of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was available for selection, he was a far cry from the player who during his peak competed with Lionel Messi and the Portuguese icon.
Of his several attacking returns so far, five have come against teams from divisions below Brazil's top flight - a scoring contribution against Agua Santa, followed by a goal and two assists versus another lower-division opponent, all in the regional competition.
As Santos battle against demotion in the top division, the number 10 no longer seems to be the game-changer he previously represented.
Nevertheless, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has plenty of time to show he is ready for the World Cup.
"His goal must be to be prepared in summer. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in autumn, November or March," the coach told L'Equipe newspaper.
Ancelotti created local controversy last month by reportedly trying to shield Neymar, stating the star had been excluded from the team over fitness concerns.
But then Neymar himself disputed it, saying he "was left out for tactical decisions; it has nothing to do with my physical condition."
In terms of popular view, it certainly didn't make it any better for Neymar.
"If the player we have invested our faith in to win the World Cup is left out for performance issues, clearly something isn't right," Cafu commented.
Can Neymar follow Ronaldo's 2002 example?
Polls from Datafolha found that Brazilians are divided 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 behaviour on the pitch either.
He seems greater frustration than usual, having exchanged words with fans on several occasions in stadiums - it occurred in three consecutive matches in mid-year.
The following month, the striker was left in tears after Santos suffered a 6-0 home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the worst result of his professional life.
When questioned by a journalist about his physical state in a game aftermath discussion, he became frustrated: "Again with this, friend? I've responded to this countless times already."
The similar query has been posed to his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's intention was to spend a limited period at Santos. For what? To recover. If Neymar managed to play, amen," he previously explained, causing anger among fans.
There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's best days haven't ended and that he will be able to resurrect his form the same way forward Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to overcome skepticism and injuries to lead Brazil to the championship trophy.
The Brazilian great observes similarities.
"He's a vital player for Brazil - there's no one else like Neymar," Ronaldo declared during a recent event with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an overstatement from a small group who believe he's ignoring his physical recovery.
Those who have been in football understand completely how hard it is to recover from an setback and regain form and self-belief. He's progressing well."
The Santos star has a critical period ahead to demonstrate that he's not the heir who stepped away from greatness.
