Brazil's undisputed star? Neymar's World Cup race against time

Neymar was participating in an online poker tournament while lying in bed receiving treatment for his third injury of the year as Ousmane Dembele was named the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner in late September. The 33-year-old Brazilian ace ultimately finished as runner-up, earning around £73,800 in prize money.

 It was some consolation on a day when he had to watch the player who once replaced him at Barcelona lift the award he had long hoped to win.

 Since coming back to his boyhood club Santos in January, the 33-year-old forward has failed to live up to expectations, drawing more attention for episodes like this than for his football.

 After 12 years away, his return was supposed to be a chance for him to regain his form and, most importantly, to rekindle a passion for the game that seemed to have faded after trying periods with Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia and Paris St. Germain. Instead, it has largely disappointed everyone involved. Such is the situation that the main question being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will make it to the 2026 World Cup.

 He's running out of time.

 "Even celebrities have to demonstrate their fitness. The clock is ticking [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao wrote in his Folha de S Paulo newspaper column.

 On Wednesday, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti announced his squad for the upcoming games against South Korea and Japan and, once again, Neymar was not in it.

 "The Prince", as he was dubbed when welcomed back at Santos in a reference to the king Pele, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been absent from the Selecao for two years.  His last game was against Uruguay in October 2023, when they lost 2-0. In addition, he is still out with an injury for the games in November, which means that, in the worst case, he will only have two friendly matches in March 2026 to prove himself to Ancelotti before the final World Cup roster is announced. "For 15 years, Neymar was Brazil's undisputed star, carrying enormous expectations and responsibility on his own", former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu said.

 "But no one wins the World Cup alone.  Putting all our hopes 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 only has Neymar missed 47% of Santos' matches this season due to multiple fitness issues since his return to Brazil, but when he did play, he was far from the player who dared to challenge Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, which led PSG to pay Barca a world-record €222 million (£200 million) fee in 2017. Five of his nine goals have come against teams in Brazil's lower divisions, including a goal and an assist against Agua Santa and a goal and two assists against Inter de Limeira in the Sao Paulo State Championship. As Santos fight relegation in the Brazilian first tier, the number 10 no longer seems to be the difference maker he once was - according to Sofascore, he ranks only 50th in successful dribbles per game.

 Despite that, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has plenty of time to show he is ready for the World Cup.

 "His goal must be to be ready in June.  The Italian told the newspaper L'Equipe, "It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in October, November, or March." Last month, Ancelotti sparked local controversy by allegedly attempting to safeguard Neymar, claiming that the star player had been left out of the team due to fitness concerns. Neymar, on the other hand, refuted it, claiming that he "was left out for technical reasons; it has nothing to do with my physical condition." Ancelotti later admitted it was "a technical decision based on many things".

 In terms of public perception, it certainly didn't make it any better for Neymar.

 "If the player we have placed all our hopes on to deliver the World Cup is left out for technical reasons, clearly something isn't right," Cafu said.

 Will Neymar be capable of emulating Ronaldo in 2002?

 According to Datafolha, a leading polling organization, Brazilians are divided on whether Neymar should be called up to the World Cup for the fourth time. While 48% support the idea, 41% are against it.

 With his 79 goals, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't helped his case much with his behaviour on the pitch either.

 He seems more on edge than usual, having argued with fans multiple times in stadiums - it happened in three consecutive matches in July.

 The following month, the striker was left in tears after Santos endured a 6-0 home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the biggest loss of his career.

 He also lost his patience when a reporter asked about his fitness level in a post-match interview: "Again with this, mate? I've answered this 500 times already."

 The same kind of question has been posed to his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.  "Neymar's plan was to spend five months at Santos.  For what?  To recover.  He previously explained, "If Neymar managed to play, amen," which angered supporters. There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's best days aren't over and that he will be able to revive his career the same way striker Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to overcome criticism and injuries to lead Brazil to the World Cup title.

 The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend sees similarities.

 "He's a crucial player for Brazil - there's no one else like Neymar," Ronaldo said during a recent event with the forward in Sao Paulo.

 "It's an exaggeration from a minority who believe he's neglecting his physical recovery.  Anyone who has been in football knows perfectly how hard it is to come back from an injury and regain rhythm and confidence.  He's right on track."

 The actor from Santos has a few crucial months to show that he is not the prince who left the throne.