The Brazilian Unquestioned Star? Neymar's Global Tournament Countdown Challenge
While Ousmane Dembele claimed the 2025 Ballon d'Or in the autumn months, the Brazilian sensation was receiving treatment for his third injury of the year - simultaneously taking part in an online poker tournament.
The veteran Brazilian ace eventually placed as second place, securing around seventy-three thousand pounds in tournament winnings.
It was partial comfort on a day when he had to witness the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona lift the award he had long hoped to win.
After returning to his boyhood club Santos in January, the experienced attacker has failed to live up to expectations, attracting more attention for comparable situations than for his football.
His homecoming after 12 seasons away was meant to be a chance for him to regain his form and, crucially, rekindle a love of football that seemed gone after disappointing periods with Paris St-Germain and Al Hilal.
Instead, it has been generally unsatisfactory for all parties involved.
This reflects the situation that the main question being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will make it to the upcoming global tournament.
He's running out of time.
"All players have to demonstrate that they are prepared. The time is passing [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao stated in his regular feature.
On midweek, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti announced his squad for the forthcoming matches against South Korea and the Asian nation and, yet again, Neymar was excluded.
"The Prince", as he was dubbed when welcomed back at Santos in a reference to the legend Pelé, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been absent from the Selecao for two years.
He continues to be 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 revealing of the definitive squad for the World Cup.
"Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's undisputed star, shouldering massive pressure on his own," Brazilian icon Cafu stated.
"But no one wins the World Cup alone. Placing all our hopes on him at the moment is challenging 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 return to Brazil - he's been absent for 47% of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was able to play, he was a distant from the player who during his zenith dared to challenge Lionel Messi and the Portuguese icon.
Of his several attacking returns so far, half have come against teams from divisions below Brazil's first division - a scoring contribution against Agua Santa, followed by a three goal involvements versus another lower-division opponent, all in the Sao Paulo State Championship.
As Santos fight relegation in the Brazilian first tier, the number 10 no longer seems to be the game-changer he previously represented.
Despite that, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is prepared for the World Cup.
"His objective must be to be ready in June. It isn't crucial if he's in the squad in autumn, November or spring," the coach told French media.
Ancelotti created local debate last month by reportedly trying to protect Neymar, suggesting the star had been excluded from the team over physical condition issues.
But then Neymar himself challenged the claim, saying he "was left out for technical reasons; it has nothing to do with my physical condition."
In terms of public perception, it undoubtedly worsened the situation for Neymar.
"If the player we have invested our faith in to win the World Cup is left out for technical reasons, obviously something isn't right," Cafu said.
Can Neymar follow Ronaldo's 2002 example?
Polls from Datafolha found that Brazilians are split over whether Neymar should be called up for his fourth World Cup.
With his 79 goals, Neymar is Brazil's historical leading marksman, but he hasn't helped his case much with his conduct during matches either.
He seems greater frustration than usual, having argued with fans on several occasions in venues - it occurred in three consecutive matches in mid-year.
The following month, the forward was left in tears after Santos suffered a 6-0 home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the heaviest defeat of his career.
When questioned by a journalist about his physical state in a game aftermath discussion, he showed irritation: "This topic again, mate? 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 remain for a limited period at Santos. To what end? To recover. If Neymar managed to play, amen," he previously explained, causing anger among followers.
There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's best days 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 criticism and injuries to lead Brazil to the championship trophy.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend observes parallels.
"He's a crucial player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo said during a recent appearance with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an exaggeration from a minority who believe he's disregarding his physical recovery.
Anyone who have been in football understand completely how hard it is to come back from an injury and restore rhythm and confidence. He's moving forward."
The Santos star has a critical period ahead to prove that he's not the heir who abandoned the throne.
