The Brazilian Unquestioned Superstar? Neymar's Global Tournament Race Against Time
While the French winger was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or in late September, Neymar was undergoing therapy for his third injury of the year - while engaging in an virtual card tournament.
The veteran football star eventually placed as runner-up, securing around £73,800 in tournament winnings.
It was limited solace on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona receive the award he had long hoped to win.
After coming back to his youth team Santos in January, the 33-year-old forward has failed to live up to expectations, attracting more attention for episodes like this than for his on-field performances.
His homecoming after a dozen campaigns away was intended as a chance for him to rediscover his best and, most importantly, rekindle a love of football that seemed gone after frustrating spells with PSG and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for everyone concerned.
This reflects the situation that the main question being asked right now in Brazil is if Neymar will make it to the 2026 World Cup.
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 Wednesday, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti disclosed his squad for the upcoming games against South Korea and the Asian nation and, yet again, Neymar was absent.
"The Prince", as he was nicknamed when welcomed back at Santos in a reference to the legend Pelé, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been missing from the national team for 24 months.
He also remains an fitness concern for the November games, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with only two friendly matches in spring 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the revealing of the definitive squad for the World Cup.
"For 15 years, Neymar was Brazil's clear standout, shouldering huge responsibility on his own," Brazilian icon Cafu remarked.
"But nobody wins the World Cup single-handedly. Placing all our expectations on him at the moment is difficult because he struggles to even play three games in a row."
'Technical exclusion raises serious questions about Neymar'
Not just 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 distant from the player who during his prime 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 top flight - a scoring contribution against Agua Santa, 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 difference maker he previously represented.
Despite that, Ancelotti has maintained that the forward has plenty of time to show he is fit for the World Cup.
"His aim must be to be ready in summer. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in autumn, late autumn or spring," the coach told L'Equipe newspaper.
Ancelotti created local discussion last month by reportedly trying to protect 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 no connection to my physical condition."
In terms of public perception, it definitely didn't help for Neymar.
"If the player we have placed all our hopes on to win the World Cup is left out for performance issues, evidently there's a problem," Cafu commented.
Will Neymar be capable of emulating Ronaldo in 2002?
Research 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 behaviour on the pitch either.
He seems increased agitation than usual, having confronted fans multiple times in stadiums - it happened in three consecutive matches in mid-year.
The following month, the striker was left in tears after Santos suffered a six-goal home defeat by their rivals - the heaviest defeat of his professional life.
When asked by a journalist about his physical state in a game aftermath discussion, he also lost his patience: "Again with this, mate? I've answered this 500 times already."
The identical inquiry has been posed to his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's plan was to remain for five months at Santos. For what? To recover. If Neymar was able to feature, so be it," he earlier stated, causing outrage among supporters.
There's remaining optimism, however, that Neymar's best days haven't ended and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way striker Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to surmount skepticism and injuries to guide Brazil to the championship trophy.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend notes parallels.
"He's a vital player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo declared during a recent event with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an misrepresentation from a small group who believe he's neglecting his physical recovery.
Anyone who have been in football recognize fully how difficult it is to recover from an injury and restore form and self-belief. He's moving forward."
The Santos star has a important timeframe ahead to prove that he's not the prince who stepped away from greatness.
