The Brazilian Unquestioned Star? Neymar's World Cup Countdown Challenge
While Ousmane Dembele claimed the prestigious football award in the autumn months, the Brazilian sensation was receiving treatment for his third injury of the year - simultaneously engaging in an online poker tournament.
The veteran Brazilian ace eventually placed as runner-up, collecting around seventy-three thousand pounds in prize money.
It was partial comfort on a day when he had to observe the player who previously succeeded him at Barcelona receive the award he had consistently dreamed to win.
After returning to his youth team Santos in January, the experienced attacker has failed to live up to expectations, attracting more attention for comparable situations than for his football.
His homecoming after 12 seasons away was intended as a chance for him to return to peak condition and, most importantly, revive a passion for the game that seemed diminished after frustrating spells with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Conversely, it has been widely disappointing for each stakeholder.
Such is the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will make it to the upcoming global tournament.
He's facing a deadline.
"All players have to prove that they are fit. The time is passing [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao stated in his newspaper column.
On midweek, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti revealed his team selection for the upcoming games against South Korea and the Asian nation and, yet again, Neymar was excluded.
"O Principe", as he was nicknamed 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 two years.
He also remains an fitness concern for the autumn fixtures, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with only two friendly matches in spring 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the revealing of the definitive squad for the World Cup.
"Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's undisputed star, shouldering enormous expectations on his own," Brazilian icon Cafu remarked.
"But no one wins the World Cup single-handedly. Putting all our hopes on him at the present time is difficult because he finds it hard to even play multiple matches in a row."
'Technical exclusion raises serious questions about Neymar'
Not just has Neymar had various physical concerns since his homecoming - he's been absent for nearly half of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was available for selection, he was a distant from the player who during his prime competed with the Argentine maestro and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of his nine goal contributions so far, five have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's top flight - a scoring contribution against a lower-league side, followed by a three goal involvements versus another lower-division opponent, 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 game-changer he previously represented.
Nevertheless, Ancelotti has asserted that the forward has sufficient months to show he is ready for the World Cup.
"His objective must be to be ready in June. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in October, November or March," the coach told French media.
Ancelotti created local controversy last month by reportedly trying to shield Neymar, stating the star had been excluded from the team over physical condition issues.
But then Neymar himself disputed it, saying he "was excluded for tactical decisions; it has no connection to my fitness level."
In terms of popular view, it certainly didn't make it any better 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 observed.
Is a Ronaldo-style comeback possible for Neymar?
Studies from Datafolha found that the Brazilian public are split over whether Neymar should be included for his next global tournament.
With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's historical leading marksman, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his behaviour on the pitch either.
He seems greater frustration than normal, having exchanged words with fans multiple times in stadiums - it happened in successive games in mid-year.
The following month, the striker was left in tears after Santos suffered a 6-0 home defeat by Vasco da Gama - the worst result of his career.
When questioned by a reporter about his physical state in a game aftermath discussion, he also lost his patience: "This topic again, mate? I've responded to this 500 times already."
The similar query has been directed at his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's strategy was to remain for a limited period at Santos. To what end? To recover. If Neymar managed to play, so be it," he earlier stated, causing anger among supporters.
There's remaining optimism, 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 physical setbacks to lead Brazil to the World Cup title.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend sees parallels.
"He's a crucial 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 minority who believe he's neglecting his physical recovery.
Anyone who have been in football knows perfectly how challenging it is to come back from an injury and restore form and self-belief. He's moving forward."
The Brazilian forward has a important timeframe ahead to prove that he's not the heir who stepped away from greatness.
