Brazil's Unquestioned Superstar? Neymar's World Cup Race Against Time

As the French winger claimed the prestigious football award in the autumn months, Neymar was lying in bed for his third injury of the year - while participating in an virtual card tournament.

The veteran Brazilian ace ultimately finished as runner-up, securing around seventy-three thousand pounds in prize money.

It was partial comfort 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 returning to his boyhood club Santos in January, the experienced attacker has fallen short of expectations, drawing more attention for comparable situations than for his football.

His homecoming after a dozen campaigns away was intended as a chance for him to regain his form and, crucially, rekindle a love of football that seemed diminished after disappointing periods with PSG and Al Hilal.

Instead, it has been largely underwhelming for all parties involved.

This reflects the situation that the primary concern being asked right now in Brazil is whether Neymar will participate in the upcoming global tournament.

He's running out of time.

On midweek, Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti revealed his team selection for the forthcoming matches against South Korea and Japan and, once again, Neymar was absent.

"O Principe", as he was nicknamed when received at Santos in a nod toward the king Pele, is yet to play under Ancelotti, having been absent from the Selecao for two years.

He continues to be an fitness concern for the autumn fixtures, which, in the most pessimistic outlook, will leave him with just a pair of friendly matches in March 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. Putting all our expectations on him at the moment is challenging because he has difficulty to even play multiple matches in a row."

Not only has Neymar had multiple fitness issues since his homecoming - he's missed 47% of Santos' matches this campaign - but, when he was able to play, he was a distant from the player who during his prime competed with 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 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 playmaker no longer seems to be the game-changer he once was.

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

Ancelotti caused local controversy last month by allegedly attempting to shield 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 nothing to do with my physical condition."

In terms of public perception, it certainly didn't make it any better for Neymar.

Polls 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 historical leading marksman, but he hasn't improved his situation much with his in-game attitude either.

He seems increased agitation than normal, having argued with fans repeatedly in stadiums - it happened in successive games in mid-year.

The next month, the forward was emotional after Santos suffered a six-goal loss at home by their rivals - the worst result of his career.

When asked by a reporter about his fitness condition in a post-match interview, he showed irritation: "This topic again, friend? I've responded to this 500 times already."

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

"Neymar's plan was to remain for a limited period at Santos. To what end? To recover. If Neymar managed to play, amen," he previously explained, causing outrage among followers.

There's continuing belief, however, that Neymar's prime period haven't ended and that he will be able to revive his career the same way forward Ronaldo "Phenomenon" did in 2002 to overcome skepticism and injuries to guide Brazil to the World Cup title.

The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan legend notes parallels.

"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 challenging it is to return from an setback and regain form and self-belief. He's progressing well."

The Santos star has a important timeframe ahead to show that he's not the prince who relinquished his status.