The Brazilian Undisputed Star? Neymar's World Cup Race Against Time
While the French winger was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or in late September, Neymar was lying in bed for his third injury of the year - while taking part in an virtual card tournament.
The veteran Brazilian ace eventually placed as second place, securing around £73,800 in prize money.
It was partial comfort on a day when he had to watch the player who once replaced him at Barcelona receive the award he had consistently dreamed to win.
After returning to his youth team Santos in the new year, the 33-year-old forward has fallen short of expectations, attracting more attention for similar incidents than for his on-field performances.
His homecoming after a dozen campaigns away was intended as a chance for him to return to peak condition and, most importantly, rekindle a love of football that seemed lost after disappointing periods with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been widely disappointing for each stakeholder.
Such is the situation that the primary concern being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will participate in the upcoming global tournament.
He's facing a deadline.
"Even the stars have to prove that they are fit. The clock is ticking [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao wrote in his regular feature.
On midweek, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti announced his team selection for the upcoming games against South Korea and Japan and, yet again, Neymar was not in it.
"O Principe", as he was dubbed when received at Santos in a reference to the legend Pelé, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been missing from the Selecao for 24 months.
He continues to be an injury doubt for the autumn fixtures, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with only two exhibition games in March 2026 to prove himself to Ancelotti before the announcement of the definitive squad for the World Cup.
"Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's undisputed star, bearing huge responsibility on his own," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu remarked.
"But nobody wins the World Cup alone. Putting all our hopes on him at the moment is challenging 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 return to Brazil - he's missed nearly half of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was able to play, he was a distant from the player who during his zenith competed with the Argentine maestro and the Portuguese icon.
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 goal and two assists versus another lower-division opponent, all in the regional competition.
As Santos battle against demotion in the top division, the number 10 no longer seems to be the decisive factor he previously represented.
Nevertheless, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has sufficient months to show he is prepared for the World Cup.
"His objective must be to be ready in June. It isn't crucial if he's in the squad in October, November or spring," the coach told L'Equipe newspaper.
Ancelotti created local controversy 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 excluded for tactical decisions; it has nothing to do with my physical condition."
In terms of popular view, it undoubtedly worsened the situation for Neymar.
"If the player we have placed all our hopes on to deliver the World Cup is excluded for performance issues, clearly there's a problem," Cafu observed.
Is a Ronaldo-style comeback possible for Neymar?
Polls 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 79 goals, Neymar is Brazil's historical leading marksman, but he hasn't helped his case much with his in-game attitude either.
He seems increased agitation than normal, having argued with fans on several occasions in venues - it happened in successive games in July.
The next month, the forward was reduced to crying after Santos endured a 6-0 home defeat by their rivals - the heaviest defeat of his professional life.
When asked by a journalist about his physical state in a post-match interview, he became frustrated: "Again with this, mate? I've answered this countless times already."
The same kind of question has been posed to his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's strategy was to remain for a limited period at Santos. To what end? To recover. If Neymar was able to feature, so be it," he previously explained, causing outrage among supporters.
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 injuries to guide Brazil to the championship trophy.
The Brazilian great sees similarities.
"He's a crucial player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo declared during a recent event with the forward in the Brazilian city.
"It's an overstatement from a small group who believe he's ignoring his fitness rehabilitation.
Those who have been in football knows perfectly how challenging it is to recover from an setback and regain form and self-belief. He's progressing well."
The Santos star has a critical period ahead to prove that he's not the prince who relinquished his status.
