The Brazilian Undisputed Superstar? Neymar's Global Tournament Race Against Time
While Ousmane Dembele received the prestigious football award in late September, the Brazilian sensation was undergoing therapy for his latest physical setback of the year - simultaneously taking part in an online poker tournament.
The 33-year-old football star eventually placed as runner-up, earning around seventy-three thousand pounds in prize money.
It was limited solace on a day when he had to observe the player who once replaced him at Barcelona claim the award he had consistently dreamed to win.
After returning to his boyhood club Santos in January, the 33-year-old forward has fallen short of expectations, drawing more attention for comparable situations than for his football.
His return home after a dozen campaigns away was intended as a chance for him to rediscover his best and, crucially, rekindle a passion for the game that seemed lost after disappointing periods with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for each stakeholder.
This reflects the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will be part of the upcoming global tournament.
He's against the clock.
"All players have to demonstrate that they are ready. The time is passing [for him]," Brazilian legend Tostao stated in his regular feature.
On midweek, Brazil head coach the Italian tactician revealed his squad for the upcoming games against Korea Republic and the Asian nation 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 still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been missing 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 just a pair of friendly matches in March 2026 to prove himself to Ancelotti before the announcement of the final list for the World Cup.
"For 15 years, Neymar was Brazil's unquestioned talisman, shouldering huge responsibility on his own," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu said.
"But nobody wins the World Cup alone. Putting all our hopes on him at the moment is problematic because he struggles to even play multiple matches in a row."
'If Neymar is left out for technical reasons, something isn't right'
Not only has Neymar had repeated injury problems since his homecoming - he's been absent for nearly half of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was able to play, he was a distant from the player who during his zenith rivaled the Argentine maestro and the Portuguese icon.
Of his nine goal contributions so far, five have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's top flight - a scoring contribution against Agua Santa, followed by a three goal involvements versus Inter de Limeira, all in the Sao Paulo State Championship.
As Santos fight relegation in the Brazilian first tier, the number 10 no longer seems to be the decisive factor he once was.
Despite that, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is prepared for the World Cup.
"His goal must be to be ready in summer. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in October, late autumn or March," 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 contradicted this, saying he "was left out for technical reasons; it has nothing to do with my fitness level."
In terms of public perception, it undoubtedly worsened the situation for Neymar.
"If the player we have pinned our dreams on to win the World Cup is left out for performance issues, clearly there's a problem," Cafu said.
Is a Ronaldo-style comeback possible for Neymar?
Research from Datafolha found that Brazilians are divided 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 usual, having exchanged words with fans on several occasions in venues - it happened in successive games in mid-year.
The next month, the forward was reduced to crying after Santos endured a six-goal loss at home by their rivals - the worst result of his professional life.
When asked by a reporter about his fitness condition in a game aftermath discussion, he showed irritation: "This topic again, friend? I've responded to this repeatedly already."
The similar query has been posed to his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's strategy was to spend a limited period at Santos. For what? To regain fitness. If Neymar managed to play, amen," he previously explained, causing anger among fans.
There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's peak years haven't ended and that he will be able to revive his career the same way forward Ronaldo "Fenômeno" did in the 2002 World Cup to overcome doubt and injuries to guide Brazil to the championship trophy.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend observes parallels.
"He's a vital player for Brazil - there's no one else 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 neglecting his physical recovery.
Anyone who have been in football knows perfectly how hard it is to come back from an injury and recover rhythm and confidence. He's progressing well."
The Santos star has a few decisive months ahead to show that he's not the prince who stepped away from greatness.
