Brazil's Undisputed Star? Neymar's World Cup Race Against Time
While the French winger claimed the prestigious football award in the autumn months, the Brazilian sensation was undergoing therapy for his third injury 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 tournament winnings.
It was partial comfort on a day when he had to watch the player who once replaced him at Barcelona lift the award he had consistently dreamed to win.
After returning to his youth team Santos in the new year, the 33-year-old forward has failed to live up to expectations, attracting more attention for similar incidents than for his football.
His homecoming after 12 seasons away was meant to be a chance for him to regain his form and, most importantly, revive a love of football that seemed lost after frustrating spells with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been widely disappointing for each stakeholder.
Such is the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is if Neymar will participate in the 2026 World Cup.
He's facing a deadline.
"All players have to prove that they are ready. The deadline approaches [for him]," 1970 World Cup-winner Tostao wrote in his newspaper column.
On midweek, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti disclosed his squad for the forthcoming matches against Korea Republic 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 legend Pelé, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been missing from the national team for two years.
He also remains an injury doubt for the autumn fixtures, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with only two exhibition games in March 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the announcement of the final list for the World Cup.
"Over a decade and a half, Neymar was Brazil's clear standout, bearing enormous expectations on his own," Brazilian icon Cafu stated.
"But no one wins the World Cup alone. Putting all our expectations on him at the present time is challenging because he struggles to even play three games in a row."
'Omission based on skill level signals deeper issues'
Not just has Neymar had repeated injury problems since his return to Brazil - he's missed nearly half of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was available for selection, he was a far cry from the player who during his prime dared to challenge the Argentine maestro and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of his several attacking returns so far, five have come against teams from lower tiers than Brazil's first division - a goal and assist against Agua Santa, followed by a goal and two assists versus another lower-division opponent, all in the regional competition.
As Santos fight relegation in the Brazilian first tier, the number 10 no longer seems to be the difference maker he once was.
Nevertheless, Ancelotti has insisted that the forward has plenty of time to show he is ready for the World Cup.
"His aim must be to be prepared in summer. It doesn't matter if he's in the squad in October, late autumn or March," the coach told French media.
Ancelotti created local debate last month by reportedly trying to protect Neymar, stating the star had been excluded 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 fan opinion, it definitely didn't help for Neymar.
"If the player we have pinned our dreams on to deliver the World Cup is left out for technical reasons, clearly something isn't right," Cafu commented.
Is a Ronaldo-style comeback possible for Neymar?
Polls from Datafolha found that Brazilians are divided over whether Neymar should be called up for his fourth World Cup.
With his record tally, 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 greater frustration than usual, having confronted fans on several occasions in stadiums - it happened in successive games in mid-year.
The following month, the striker was emotional after Santos suffered a 6-0 loss at home by Vasco da Gama - the heaviest defeat of his career.
When asked by a reporter about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he became frustrated: "Again with this, friend? I've responded to this repeatedly already."
The identical inquiry has been posed to his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's intention was to remain for a limited period at Santos. For what? To recover. If Neymar was able to feature, amen," he previously explained, causing anger among fans.
There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's prime period aren't over and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way forward Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to overcome skepticism and physical setbacks to guide Brazil to the World Cup title.
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend sees similarities.
"He's a vital player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo said during a recent appearance with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an overstatement from a minority who believe he's ignoring his fitness rehabilitation.
Anyone who have been in football understand completely how hard it is to come back from an injury and regain form and self-belief. He's right on track."
The Brazilian forward has a critical period ahead to show that he's not the heir who abandoned the throne.
