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Brazil superstar Neymar has said he wants to play in the 2026 World Cup despite more than 13 months on the sidelines with an injury.
The 32-year-old broke Pele’s record of 78 goals in 79 international goals in Brazil’s World Cup qualifier against Bolivia in September 2023 but tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Uruguay the following month.
“The World Cup is the goal of all players,” Neymar said Price RMC. “I have already played three times (in the final), I want to do the fourth one.
“I have to focus on this, to prepare well here (at Al-Hilal club) and to have an intermediate goal when I resume my club.”
Rodygo is helping Neymar to break Pelé’s record of scoring all the goals in Brazil 🥺🇧🇷
History of Santos 🤍 pic.twitter.com/dRWHMhONvE
– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 9, 2023
Neymar was injured
Soon, Neymar’s comeback plans were derailed by the second injury he suffered after returning to the Saudi Pro League team.
Neymar was introduced as a second-half substitute in Al-Hilal’s 3-0 win over Iranian rivals Esteghlal in the AFC Champions League Elite last month and lasted less than 30 minutes before coming off.
Although Neymar described the injury as “I hope it’s nothing more”, he did not add to his seven games for the club who paid more than £71 million to sign him from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023.
“Unfortunately, it’s not just injuries,” Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus said at the time. “He seems to be suffering from muscle pain and it’s not a knee problem.”
🔹 Neymar undergoes scans pic.twitter.com/Gt7T4GxvKh
– AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) November 6, 2024
Neymar Al Hilal contract
There has been speculation in Saudi Arabia that Al-Hilal will not sign Neymar again for the second half of their high-flying season.
He was not named in their squad for the first part of the campaign due to injury but was cleared to play in international competitions.
Brazil team: Neymar back?
Brazil have the attacking options, with Real Madrid trio Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Endrick as well as Barcelona’s Raphinha to name a few.
After missing two games at the 2022 World Cup with an ankle injury, Neymar scored two goals and provided one assist but was part of the team that was knocked out by Croatia in the quarter-finals.
The result ensured that he did not play more than the final eight games of the tournament, having been a regular and provided two goals and two assists before Brazil were knocked out by Belgium in 2018.
At his first World Cup in 2014, Neymar finished with four goals and one assist in five games but missed Brazil’s 7-1 semi-final defeat in Germany and the 3-0 third-round loss to the Netherlands due to injury.
