The Brazilian Unquestioned Star? Neymar's Global Tournament Countdown Challenge
As the French winger received the 2025 Ballon d'Or in late September, Neymar was lying in bed for his latest physical setback of the year - while taking part in an online poker tournament.
The 33-year-old football star ultimately finished as second place, collecting around £73,800 in tournament winnings.
It was partial comfort on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona receive the award he had consistently dreamed to win.
After returning 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 return home after 12 seasons away was meant to be a chance for him to return to peak condition and, crucially, rekindle a passion for the game that seemed gone after frustrating spells with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Conversely, it has been widely disappointing for each stakeholder.
Such is the situation that the main question being asked right now in Brazil is if Neymar will be part of the 2026 World Cup.
He's running out of time.
"All players have to prove that they are prepared. The clock is ticking [for him]," Brazilian legend Tostao wrote in his newspaper column.
On midweek, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti announced his squad for the forthcoming matches against South Korea and Japan and, once again, Neymar was not in it.
"The Prince", as he was dubbed when received at Santos in a nod toward the legend Pelé, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been missing from the national team for two years.
He continues to be an fitness concern for the November games, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with just a pair of friendly matches in March 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 clear standout, carrying massive pressure on his own," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu stated.
"But nobody wins the World Cup alone. Putting all our expectations 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 various physical concerns 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 zenith dared to challenge Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of his nine goal contributions so far, half have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's top flight - a goal and assist against a lower-league side, followed by a three goal involvements versus Inter de Limeira, all in the regional competition.
As Santos fight relegation in the top division, the number 10 no longer seems to be the difference maker he once was.
Despite that, Ancelotti has asserted that the forward has plenty of time to show he is prepared for the World Cup.
"His goal must be to be prepared in June. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in October, November or March," the Italian told L'Equipe newspaper.
Ancelotti caused local debate 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 contradicted this, saying he "was left out for technical reasons; 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 pinned our dreams on to win the World Cup is excluded for performance issues, evidently something isn't right," Cafu said.
Is a Ronaldo-style comeback possible for Neymar?
Polls from Datafolha found that the Brazilian public are divided over whether Neymar should be called up for his fourth World Cup.
With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his behaviour on the pitch either.
He seems more on edge than normal, having exchanged words with fans repeatedly in venues - it happened in successive games in mid-year.
The following month, the forward was left in tears after Santos suffered a 6-0 loss at home by their rivals - the heaviest defeat of his professional life.
When asked by a journalist about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he became frustrated: "Again with this, mate? I've responded to this repeatedly already."
The similar query has been directed at his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's strategy was to remain for five months at Santos. For what? To regain fitness. If Neymar managed to play, amen," he earlier stated, causing outrage among followers.
There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's prime period 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 physical setbacks to guide Brazil to the World Cup title.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend observes similarities.
"He's a essential player for Brazil - there's no one else like Neymar," Ronaldo stated during a recent event with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an exaggeration from a small group who believe he's ignoring his physical recovery.
Anyone who have been in football knows perfectly how challenging it is to come back from an setback and restore form and self-belief. He's progressing well."
The Santos star has a important timeframe ahead to demonstrate that he's not the heir who abandoned the throne.
