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

As Ousmane Dembele was crowned the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner in late September, Neymar was lying in bed undergoing treatment for his third injury of the year - while taking part in an online poker tournament.

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.

His return home after 12 seasons away was meant to be a chance for him to regain his form and, most importantly, revive a passion for the game that seemed gone after frustrating spells with Paris St-Germain and Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

Instead, it has been widely disappointing for all parties 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 the stars have to prove that they are fit. 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 appearance was in the 2-0 defeat by Uruguay in October 2023.

He also remains an injury doubt for the November games, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with only two 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 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."

Not only has Neymar had multiple fitness issues since his return to Brazil - he's missed 47% of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was able to play, he was a far cry from the player who during his peak dared to challenge Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, leading PSG to pay Barca a world-record €222m (£200m) fee back in 2017.

Of his nine goal contributions 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 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 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. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in October, November or March," the Italian told L'Equipe newspaper.

Ancelotti stirred local controversy last month by allegedly attempting to protect Neymar, claiming the star had been omitted from the team over fitness concerns.

But then Neymar himself disputed it, saying 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.

Research from Datafolha, a leading polling institute, found that Brazilians are divided over whether Neymar should be called up for his fourth World Cup. 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.

When asked by a reporter about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he also lost his patience: "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. If Neymar managed to play, amen," he previously explained, causing outrage among 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 Santos star has a few decisive months ahead to prove that he's not the prince who abandoned the throne.