Brazil's Unquestioned Superstar? Neymar's Global Tournament Race Against Time
As Ousmane Dembele was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or in the autumn months, Neymar was undergoing therapy for his third injury of the year - while taking part in an virtual card tournament.
The 33-year-old football star eventually placed as runner-up, earning around £73,800 in prize money.
It was limited solace on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona claim the award he had long hoped to win.
After coming back to his youth team Santos in January, the experienced attacker has fallen short of expectations, drawing more attention for episodes like this than for his on-field performances.
His homecoming after 12 seasons away was meant to be a chance for him to return to peak condition and, most importantly, restore a passion for the game that seemed lost after disappointing periods with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been generally unsatisfactory for each stakeholder.
This reflects the situation that the key issue 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 prepared. The deadline approaches [for him]," Brazilian legend Tostao commented in his newspaper column.
On Wednesday, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti announced his team selection for the upcoming games against South Korea and Japan and, yet again, Neymar was excluded.
"The Prince", as he was nicknamed when received at Santos in a reference to the king Pele, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been absent from the national team for two years.
He continues to be an injury doubt for the autumn fixtures, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with only two exhibition games in March 2026 to prove himself to Ancelotti before the announcement of the definitive squad for the World Cup.
"For 15 years, Neymar was Brazil's clear standout, shouldering huge responsibility on his own," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu said.
"But no one wins the World Cup single-handedly. Placing all our expectations on him at the moment is problematic because he finds it hard to even play multiple matches in a row."
'Omission based on skill level signals deeper issues'
Not just has Neymar had multiple fitness issues since his return to Brazil - he's missed nearly half of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was able to play, he was a different to the player who during his peak competed with the Argentine maestro and the Portuguese icon.
Of his nine goal contributions 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 fight relegation in the Brazilian first tier, the playmaker no longer seems to be the decisive factor he once was.
Despite that, Ancelotti has asserted that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is prepared for the World Cup.
"His goal must be to be ready in June. It isn't crucial if he's in the squad in October, November or spring," the Italian told French media.
Ancelotti created local discussion last month by allegedly attempting to shield Neymar, suggesting the star had been omitted from the team over physical condition issues.
But then Neymar himself challenged the claim, saying he "was left out for technical reasons; it has no connection to my fitness level."
In terms of popular view, it undoubtedly worsened the situation for Neymar.
"If the player we have invested our faith in to deliver the World Cup is excluded for performance issues, evidently there's a problem," Cafu commented.
Can Neymar follow Ronaldo's 2002 example?
Polls from a leading polling institute found that the Brazilian public are split over whether Neymar should be selected for his fourth World Cup.
With his 79 goals, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't helped his case much with his conduct during matches either.
He seems increased agitation than usual, having confronted fans on several occasions in venues - it happened in successive games in mid-year.
The following month, the forward was emotional after Santos suffered a 6-0 loss at home by Vasco da Gama - the biggest loss of his career.
When asked by a journalist about his fitness condition in a game aftermath discussion, he became frustrated: "Again with this, friend? I've responded to this repeatedly already."
The identical inquiry has been directed at his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's strategy was to remain for a limited period at Santos. For what? To recover. If Neymar was able to feature, amen," he previously explained, causing anger among followers.
There's continuing belief, however, that Neymar's peak years remain possible and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way striker Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to overcome skepticism and injuries to guide Brazil to the championship trophy.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend sees similarities.
"He's a essential player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo said during a recent appearance with the forward in the Brazilian city.
"It's an misrepresentation from a small group who believe he's neglecting his fitness rehabilitation.
Those who have been in football knows perfectly how difficult it is to come back from an setback and restore form and self-belief. He's moving forward."
The Brazilian forward has a important timeframe ahead to show that he's not the heir who stepped away from greatness.
