The Brazilian Unquestioned Star? Neymar Jr's Global Tournament Race Against Time
As Ousmane Dembele claimed the prestigious football award in the autumn months, the Brazilian sensation was undergoing therapy for his latest physical setback of the year - simultaneously participating in an online poker tournament.
The veteran football star eventually placed as second place, collecting around ÂŁ73,800 in prize money.
It was some consolation on a day when he had to witness the player who previously succeeded 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 fallen short of expectations, attracting more attention for episodes like this than for his football.
His return home after a dozen campaigns away was meant to be a chance for him to rediscover his best and, most importantly, restore a passion for the game that seemed gone after frustrating spells with Paris St-Germain and the Saudi club.
Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for everyone concerned.
Such is the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will participate in the upcoming global tournament.
He's facing a deadline.
"All players have to prove that they are prepared. The time is passing [for him]," Brazilian legend Tostao commented in his newspaper column.
On midweek, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti revealed his team selection for the upcoming games against South Korea and the Asian nation and, yet again, Neymar was absent.
"O Principe", as he was dubbed when received at Santos in a reference to the king Pele, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been absent from the national team for 24 months.
He continues to be an injury doubt for the autumn fixtures, which, in the worst scenario, will leave him with just a pair of 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 clear standout, shouldering huge responsibility on his own," former AC Milan and Roma legend Cafu stated.
"But no one wins the World Cup single-handedly. Putting all our expectations on him at the present time is challenging because he struggles to even play multiple matches in a row."
'If Neymar is left out for technical reasons, something isn't right'
Not just has Neymar had multiple fitness issues since his return to Brazil - he's been absent for nearly half of Santos' matches this season - but, when he was able to play, he was a distant from the player who during his prime rivaled Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of his several attacking returns so far, five have come against teams from divisions below Brazil's top flight - a scoring contribution against a lower-league side, followed by a three goal involvements versus Inter de Limeira, all in the Sao Paulo State Championship.
As Santos fight relegation in the top division, the playmaker no longer seems to be the game-changer he once was.
Despite that, Ancelotti has maintained that the forward has ample opportunity to show he is prepared for the World Cup.
"His objective 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 stirred local controversy last month by allegedly attempting to shield Neymar, claiming the star had been excluded from the team over fitness concerns.
But then Neymar himself disputed it, saying he "was excluded for technical reasons; it has nothing to do with my physical condition."
In terms of popular view, it certainly didn't make it any better for Neymar.
"If the player we have placed all our hopes on to win the World Cup is excluded for performance issues, clearly issues exist," Cafu commented.
Is a Ronaldo-style comeback possible for Neymar?
Research from Datafolha found that Brazilians are split over whether Neymar should be included for his next global tournament.
With his record tally, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top scorer, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his in-game attitude either.
He seems more on edge than usual, having exchanged words with fans repeatedly in venues - it occurred in successive games in July.
The next month, the forward was left in tears after Santos endured a six-goal home defeat by their rivals - the biggest loss of his professional life.
When asked by a journalist about his physical state in a post-match interview, he became frustrated: "This topic again, friend? I've answered this 500 times already."
The same kind of question has been posed to his parent representative Neymar Sr as well.
"Neymar's intention was to remain for a limited period at Santos. To what end? To regain fitness. If Neymar managed to play, amen," he earlier stated, causing outrage among fans.
There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's prime period haven't ended and that he will be able to return to prominence the same way forward Ronaldo "FenĂ´meno" did in 2002 to overcome skepticism and physical setbacks to lead Brazil to the World Cup title.
The Brazilian great sees similarities.
"He's a essential player for Brazil - there's nobody like Neymar," Ronaldo declared during a recent appearance with the forward in Sao Paulo.
"It's an misrepresentation from a small group who believe he's disregarding his physical recovery.
Those who have been in football recognize fully how difficult it is to return from an injury and regain rhythm and confidence. He's progressing well."
The Brazilian forward has a critical period ahead to show that he's not the prince who abandoned the throne.
