Brazil's Unquestioned Star? Neymar Jr's Global Tournament Race Against Time

While Ousmane Dembele claimed the prestigious football award in the autumn months, Neymar was receiving treatment for his third injury of the year - simultaneously participating in an online poker tournament.

The 33-year-old football star ultimately finished as runner-up, securing around £73,800 in prize money.

It was limited solace on a day when he had to observe the player who once replaced him at Barcelona lift the award he had long hoped to win.

After 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 comparable situations than for his on-field performances.

His homecoming after 12 seasons away was meant to be a chance for him to return to peak condition and, most importantly, rekindle a passion for the game that seemed gone after frustrating spells with PSG and the Saudi club.

Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for each stakeholder.

Such is the situation that the key issue being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will be part of the 2026 World Cup.

He's facing a deadline.

On Wednesday, Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti announced his team selection for the upcoming games against Korea Republic and the Asian nation and, once again, Neymar was excluded.

"O Principe", as he was dubbed when welcomed back at Santos in a nod toward the king Pele, is still awaiting his debut under Ancelotti, having been absent from the national team 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 exhibition games in spring 2026 to demonstrate his worth to Ancelotti before the announcement of the definitive squad for the World Cup.

"But no one wins the World Cup single-handedly. Placing all our hopes on him at the present time is difficult because he has difficulty to even play three games in a row."

Not just has Neymar had various physical concerns since his homecoming - 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 zenith competed with the Argentine maestro and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Of his nine goal contributions so far, half have come against teams from divisions below Brazil's top flight - a scoring contribution against a lower-league side, followed by a goal and two assists versus Inter de Limeira, all in the regional competition.

As Santos fight relegation in the top division, the playmaker no longer seems to be the decisive factor he previously represented.

Nevertheless, Ancelotti has asserted that the forward has plenty of time to show he is fit for the World Cup.

Ancelotti stirred local controversy last month by allegedly attempting to protect Neymar, suggesting the star had been excluded from the team over physical condition issues.

But then Neymar himself contradicted this, saying he "was excluded for tactical decisions; it has nothing to do with my physical condition."

In terms of popular view, it certainly didn't make it any better for Neymar.

Studies from a leading polling institute found that the Brazilian public are split over whether Neymar should be selected for his next global tournament.

With his 79 goals, Neymar is Brazil's historical leading marksman, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his behaviour on the pitch either.

He seems increased agitation than usual, having confronted fans on several occasions in stadiums - it happened in three consecutive matches in July.

The next 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 journalist about his physical state in a game aftermath discussion, he also lost his patience: "Again with this, mate? I've responded to this 500 times already."

The same kind of question has been posed to his father and agent Neymar Sr as well.

"Neymar's strategy was to remain for five months at Santos. To what end? To regain fitness. If Neymar was able to feature, amen," he earlier stated, causing outrage among supporters.

There's still a slight hope, however, that Neymar's prime period haven't ended and that he will be able to resurrect his form the same way striker Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to surmount criticism and physical setbacks to lead Brazil to the World Cup title.

The Brazilian great notes comparisons.

"It's an overstatement from a small group who believe he's disregarding his fitness rehabilitation.

Those who have been in football recognize fully how hard it is to come back from an injury and restore form and self-belief. He's right on track."

The Santos star has a important timeframe ahead to demonstrate that he's not the prince who stepped away from greatness.