Brazil's Unquestioned Superstar? Neymar's Global Tournament Race Against Time
While Ousmane Dembele received the 2025 Ballon d'Or in the autumn months, Neymar was receiving treatment for his latest physical setback of the year - simultaneously taking part in an online poker tournament.
The 33-year-old Brazilian ace eventually placed as runner-up, securing around £73,800 in tournament winnings.
It was partial comfort on a day when he had to witness the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona lift the award he had consistently dreamed to win.
After returning to his youth team Santos in January, the experienced attacker has fallen short of 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 rediscover his best and, most importantly, rekindle a love of football that seemed lost after frustrating spells with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for each stakeholder.
Such is the situation that the primary concern being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will participate in the 2026 World Cup.
He's facing a deadline.
"All players have to demonstrate that they are ready. The clock is ticking [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao stated 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 absent.
"The Prince", as he was dubbed when welcomed back at Santos in a reference to the legend Pelé, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been absent from the Selecao for 24 months.
He continues to be an injury doubt for the November games, 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 final list for the World Cup.
"Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's unquestioned talisman, shouldering enormous expectations 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 challenging because he finds it hard to even play three games 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 nearly half of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was available for selection, he was a different to the player who during his prime competed with the Argentine maestro and the Portuguese icon.
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 Agua Santa, followed by a three goal involvements versus Inter de Limeira, all in the Sao Paulo State Championship.
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 maintained that the forward has sufficient months 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 autumn, November or spring," the Italian told L'Equipe newspaper.
Ancelotti created local controversy last month by reportedly trying to protect Neymar, suggesting the star had been omitted from the team over fitness concerns.
But then Neymar himself challenged the claim, saying he "was left out for technical reasons; it has no connection to my fitness level."
In terms of popular view, it definitely didn't help for Neymar.
"If the player we have placed all our hopes on to deliver the World Cup is excluded for technical reasons, obviously there's a problem," Cafu commented.
Is a Ronaldo-style comeback possible for Neymar?
Research from Datafolha found that Brazilians are split over whether Neymar should be called up for his fourth World Cup.
With his 79 goals, 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 argued with fans multiple times in venues - it occurred in three consecutive matches in July.
The following month, the striker was left in tears after Santos suffered a six-goal home defeat by their rivals - the worst result of his career.
When asked by a journalist about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he showed irritation: "Again with this, mate? I've responded to this repeatedly already."
The identical inquiry has been posed to his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's strategy was to remain for five months at Santos. For what? To recover. If Neymar managed to play, so be it," he earlier stated, causing displeasure among supporters.
There's continuing belief, however, that Neymar's peak years haven't ended and that he will be able to resurrect his form the same way striker Ronaldo "Fenômeno" did in the 2002 World Cup to overcome criticism and injuries to guide Brazil to the championship trophy.
The Brazilian great notes parallels.
"He's a essential player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo declared during a recent event with the forward in the Brazilian city.
"It's an misrepresentation from a small group who believe he's ignoring his physical recovery.
Those who have been in football knows perfectly how hard it is to recover from an setback and regain rhythm and confidence. He's progressing well."
The Brazilian forward has a important timeframe ahead to show that he's not the prince who stepped away from greatness.