The Brazilian Undisputed Superstar? Neymar Jr's Global Tournament Race Against Time
While the French winger was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or in the autumn months, Neymar was receiving treatment for his third injury of the year - while participating in an virtual card tournament.
The veteran Brazilian ace ultimately finished as second place, earning around seventy-three thousand pounds in prize money.
It was limited solace 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.
Since coming back to his youth team Santos in the new year, the 33-year-old forward has failed to live up to expectations, attracting more attention for episodes like this 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, revive a love of football that seemed lost after frustrating spells with PSG and Al Hilal.
Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for all parties involved.
Such is the situation that the primary concern being asked right now in Brazil is if Neymar will make it to the upcoming global tournament.
He's running out of time.
"All players have to prove that they are ready. The clock is ticking [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao commented in his regular feature.
On midweek, Brazil manager the Italian tactician revealed his squad for the upcoming games against Korea Republic and Japan and, yet again, Neymar was absent.
"O Principe", as he was nicknamed when welcomed back at Santos in a nod toward the legend Pelé, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been missing from the national team for 24 months.
He continues to be an injury doubt for the November games, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with just a pair of exhibition games in spring 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the announcement of the final list for the World Cup.
"Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's unquestioned talisman, bearing enormous expectations on his own," Brazilian icon Cafu said.
"But no one 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."
'If Neymar is left out for technical reasons, something isn't right'
Not just has Neymar had various physical concerns since his homecoming - he's missed 47% of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was available for selection, he was a far cry from the player who during his peak 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 goal and assist against Agua Santa, followed by a three goal involvements versus Inter de Limeira, all in the regional competition.
As Santos fight relegation in the top division, the playmaker no longer seems to be the decisive factor he once was.
Despite that, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is ready 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, late autumn or March," the Italian told French media.
Ancelotti created local discussion last month by allegedly attempting to protect Neymar, stating the star had been omitted from the team over physical condition issues.
But then Neymar himself disputed it, saying he "was left out for tactical decisions; it has nothing to do with my physical condition."
In terms of fan opinion, 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 there's a problem," Cafu observed.
Will Neymar be capable of emulating Ronaldo in 2002?
Research from a leading polling institute found that the Brazilian public are divided over whether Neymar should be called up for his next global tournament.
With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's historical leading marksman, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his behaviour on the pitch either.
He seems increased agitation than usual, having exchanged words with fans repeatedly in stadiums - it occurred in three consecutive matches in mid-year.
The next month, the forward was emotional after Santos suffered a 6-0 loss at home by their rivals - the worst result of his career.
When asked by a journalist about his physical state in a post-match interview, he became frustrated: "Again with this, mate? I've responded to this repeatedly already."
The similar query has been posed to his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's strategy was to spend a limited period at Santos. For what? To recover. If Neymar was able to feature, so be it," he earlier stated, causing displeasure among followers.
There's remaining optimism, however, that Neymar's peak years aren't over and that he will be able to revive his career the same way forward Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in the 2002 World Cup to overcome skepticism and physical setbacks 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 nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo stated during a recent appearance with the forward in the Brazilian city.
"It's an misrepresentation from a minority who believe he's disregarding his physical recovery.
Anyone who have been in football knows perfectly how hard it is to come back from an setback and regain form and self-belief. He's moving forward."
The Santos star has a critical period ahead to demonstrate that he's not the prince who stepped away from greatness.
