Brazil's Undisputed Superstar? Neymar Jr's World Cup Race Against Time
As the French winger received the prestigious football award in the autumn months, the Brazilian sensation was undergoing therapy for his third injury of the year - simultaneously taking part in an online poker tournament.
The veteran football star eventually placed as second place, collecting around seventy-three thousand pounds in tournament winnings.
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 consistently dreamed to win.
Since returning to his youth team Santos in the new year, the experienced attacker has failed to live up to expectations, drawing more attention for similar incidents than for his football.
His homecoming after a dozen campaigns away was meant to be a chance for him to return to peak condition and, most importantly, restore a love of football that seemed gone after frustrating spells with PSG and Al Hilal.
Conversely, 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 participate in the 2026 World Cup.
He's against the clock.
"All players have to prove that they are fit. The clock is ticking [for him]," Brazilian legend Tostao wrote in his regular feature.
On Wednesday, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti disclosed his team selection for the upcoming games against South Korea and Japan and, once again, Neymar was excluded.
"The Prince", as he was dubbed when received at Santos in a nod toward the king Pele, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been missing from the Selecao for two years.
He also remains an injury doubt for the November games, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with just a pair of exhibition games 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 enormous expectations on his own," Brazilian icon Cafu stated.
"But nobody wins the World Cup alone. Placing all our hopes on him at the moment is difficult 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 repeated injury problems since his homecoming - he's been absent for 47% of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was able to play, he was a distant from the player who during his prime dared to challenge the Argentine maestro and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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 fight relegation in the top division, the number 10 no longer seems to be the decisive factor he previously represented.
Despite that, Ancelotti has maintained that the forward has sufficient months to show he is prepared for the World Cup.
"His goal must be to be prepared in summer. It isn't crucial if he's in the squad in October, November or spring," the coach told French media.
Ancelotti caused local debate last month by reportedly trying to protect Neymar, stating 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 physical condition."
In terms of public perception, 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, obviously there's a problem," Cafu commented.
Can Neymar follow Ronaldo's 2002 example?
Research from a leading polling institute found that the Brazilian public are split over whether Neymar should be selected for his next global tournament.
With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's historical leading marksman, but he hasn't helped his case much with his in-game attitude either.
He seems more on edge than usual, having confronted fans repeatedly in venues - it happened in three consecutive matches in July.
The next month, the striker was left in tears after Santos suffered a 6-0 home defeat by their rivals - the worst result of his professional life.
When questioned by a journalist about his physical state in a post-match interview, he also lost his patience: "Again with this, mate? I've responded to this repeatedly already."
The same kind of question has been posed to his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's strategy was to spend five months at Santos. To what end? To regain fitness. If Neymar was able to feature, so be it," he previously explained, causing displeasure among fans.
There's remaining optimism, however, that Neymar's peak years haven't ended and that he will be able to resurrect his form the same way striker Ronaldo "Fenômeno" did in the 2002 World Cup to overcome skepticism and physical setbacks to lead Brazil to the World Cup title.
The Brazilian great sees parallels.
"He's a vital player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo stated during a recent appearance with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an overstatement from a minority who believe he's neglecting his physical recovery.
Those who have been in football knows perfectly how difficult it is to recover from an injury and recover 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.
