Brazil's Undisputed Star? Neymar's Global Tournament Race Against Time
While Ousmane Dembele was crowned the prestigious football award in late September, the Brazilian sensation was undergoing therapy for his third injury of the year - while taking part in an online poker tournament.
The 33-year-old Brazilian ace eventually placed as second place, earning around seventy-three thousand pounds in tournament winnings.
It was some consolation on a day when he had to watch the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona lift the award he had consistently dreamed to win.
Since coming back to his boyhood club Santos in January, the experienced attacker has fallen short of expectations, attracting more attention for similar incidents than for his on-field performances.
His return home 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 disappointing periods with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been widely disappointing for each stakeholder.
This reflects the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will participate in the 2026 World Cup.
He's running out of time.
"Even the stars have to prove that they are ready. The time is passing [for him]," Brazilian legend Tostao wrote in his newspaper column.
On midweek, Brazil head coach the Italian tactician announced his squad for the forthcoming matches against South Korea and Japan and, yet again, Neymar was absent.
"O Principe", as he was nicknamed when welcomed back at Santos in a reference to the legend Pelé, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been absent from the Selecao for two years.
He continues to be an injury doubt for the autumn fixtures, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with only two friendly matches in spring 2026 to prove himself to Ancelotti before the revealing of the definitive squad for the World Cup.
"For 15 years, Neymar was Brazil's clear standout, shouldering massive pressure on his own," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu said.
"But no one wins the World Cup single-handedly. Placing all our hopes on him at the present time is challenging because he finds it hard to even play multiple matches in a row."
'Omission based on skill level signals deeper issues'
Not only has Neymar had repeated injury problems since his return to Brazil - he's missed 47% of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was able to play, he was a different to the player who during his prime dared to challenge Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of his nine goal contributions so far, half 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 battle against demotion in the Brazilian first tier, the number 10 no longer seems to be the game-changer he previously represented.
Despite that, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is ready for the World Cup.
"His aim must be to be ready in June. It isn't crucial if he's in the squad in autumn, late autumn or spring," the coach told French media.
Ancelotti created local controversy last month by allegedly attempting to shield Neymar, claiming the star had been omitted from the team over fitness concerns.
But then Neymar himself challenged the claim, saying he "was left out for tactical decisions; it has no connection to my fitness level."
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 issues exist," Cafu commented.
Will Neymar be capable of emulating Ronaldo in 2002?
Polls from Datafolha found that Brazilians are divided over whether Neymar should be called up for his fourth World Cup.
With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's historical leading marksman, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his in-game attitude either.
He seems greater frustration than usual, having exchanged words with fans repeatedly in stadiums - it happened in successive games in July.
The following month, the forward was emotional after Santos endured a 6-0 home defeat by their rivals - the biggest loss of his career.
When questioned by a journalist about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he showed irritation: "Again with this, mate? I've responded to this countless times already."
The same kind of question has been posed to his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's plan was to remain for five months at Santos. To what end? To recover. If Neymar was able to feature, so be it," he earlier stated, causing anger among supporters.
There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's peak years remain possible and that he will be able to revive his career the same way striker Ronaldo "Fenômeno" did in 2002 to surmount doubt and injuries to guide Brazil to the championship trophy.
The Brazilian great notes parallels.
"He's a vital player for Brazil - there's no one else like Neymar," Ronaldo stated during a recent appearance with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an exaggeration from a small group who believe he's disregarding his fitness rehabilitation.
Those who have been in football understand completely how difficult it is to come back from an injury and restore rhythm and confidence. He's progressing well."
The Santos star has a important timeframe ahead to demonstrate that he's not the prince who stepped away from greatness.
