Brazil's Undisputed Superstar? Neymar's World Cup Race Against Time
While Ousmane Dembele was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or in the autumn months, Neymar was undergoing therapy for his latest physical setback of the year - simultaneously taking part in an virtual card tournament.
The veteran football star eventually placed as runner-up, securing around £73,800 in tournament winnings.
It was some consolation on a day when he had to watch 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 the new year, the experienced attacker has failed to live up to expectations, drawing more attention for comparable situations than for his on-field performances.
His return home after 12 seasons away was meant to be a chance for him to regain his form and, most importantly, restore a love of football that seemed diminished after frustrating spells with Paris St-Germain and Al Hilal.
Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for everyone concerned.
Such is the situation that the main question being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will participate in the 2026 World Cup.
He's against the clock.
"Even the stars have to prove that they are ready. The clock is ticking [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao stated in his regular feature.
On midweek, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti announced his team selection for the upcoming games against South Korea and Japan 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 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 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," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu said.
"But nobody wins the World Cup single-handedly. Placing all our hopes on him at the present time is difficult because he has difficulty 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 nearly half of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was able to play, he was a far cry from the player who during his zenith rivaled the Argentine maestro and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of his nine goal contributions so far, five have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's first division - a goal and assist against a lower-league side, followed by a three goal involvements versus another lower-division opponent, all in the regional competition.
As Santos fight relegation in the top division, the playmaker no longer seems to be the game-changer he once was.
Despite that, Ancelotti has maintained that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is fit for the World Cup.
"His aim must be to be prepared in summer. It isn't crucial if he's in the squad in autumn, late autumn or March," the Italian told L'Equipe newspaper.
Ancelotti stirred local discussion last month by reportedly trying to shield Neymar, suggesting the star had been omitted from the team over physical condition issues.
But then Neymar himself contradicted this, saying he "was excluded for tactical decisions; it has no connection to my fitness level."
In terms of public perception, it undoubtedly worsened the situation for Neymar.
"If the player we have placed all our hopes on to win the World Cup is excluded for performance issues, obviously there's a problem," Cafu said.
Is a Ronaldo-style comeback possible for Neymar?
Polls from a leading polling institute found that the Brazilian public are divided over whether Neymar should be selected for his next global tournament.
With his 79 goals, 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 argued with fans repeatedly in stadiums - it occurred in successive games in mid-year.
The following month, the striker was left in tears after Santos suffered a six-goal home defeat by their rivals - the worst result of his professional life.
When questioned by a journalist about his fitness condition in a game aftermath discussion, he showed irritation: "Again with this, mate? I've responded to this 500 times already."
The same kind of question has been posed to his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's intention was to remain for five months at Santos. To what end? To recover. If Neymar was able to feature, so be it," he previously explained, causing anger among fans.
There's remaining optimism, however, that Neymar's prime period aren't over and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way forward Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to overcome criticism and injuries 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 no one else like Neymar," Ronaldo said during a recent appearance with the forward in the Brazilian city.
"It's an overstatement from a small group who believe he's neglecting his physical recovery.
Those who have been in football understand completely how hard it is to come back from an injury and recover rhythm and confidence. He's progressing well."
The Santos star has a critical period ahead to demonstrate that he's not the heir who relinquished his status.
