Neymar found himself back in the spotlight as his chances of returning to the Brazil national team grew significantly, only for the forward to sit out Santos‘ game against Mirassol FC with Carlo Ancelotti watching from the stands. The 34-year-old broke his silence in the aftermath, dismissing speculation about a fresh injury with a blunt message: “Nothing is going on.“
With key forwards Rodrygo and Estêvão both sidelined through injury, Ancelotti found his attacking options considerably depleted. The Italian coach responded by adding Neymar to his preliminary list of pre-selected players for Brazil‘s upcoming double-header of friendlies against France and Croatia, a move that would have marked the forward’s return to the national team after more than two years away.
However, Santos and the player reached a mutual decision to rest Neymar for the Mirassol game, a call that has reportedly put his national team comeback at serious risk. Both the CBF and Ancelotti’s staff had been closely monitoring the situation, and his absence from Tuesday night’s fixture caught the parties off guard and caused considerable frustration.
Ancelotti had made the trip to São Paulo specifically to attend the game at the Maião stadium and assess Neymar’s fitness ahead of a potential call-up. Although the Brazil head coach was spotted by cameras entering the ground, he left without having seen the player he came to watch, redirecting his attention toward other potential candidates in the squad.
Neymar addressed the injury rumors
Santos have maintained that Neymar is not injured, despite his inability to take part in tactical training sessions until last Sunday, which led both parties to agree on resting him for the Mirassol fixture. Even so, reports quickly surfaced claiming the forward, who had completed the full 90 minutes in each of his last two appearances, had suffered yet another setback that would rule him out of the March call-up.
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Hours before kickoff on Tuesday, Neymar took to his Instagram stories to set the record straight: “Since there are so many people creating theories about what’s going on with me: nothing is going on. If I play through an injury, like they said last year, I’m wrong. If I look out for myself, I’m wrong. If I rest, I’m wrong. If I play with pain or something that could get worse, I’m wrong. It’s a mess, isn’t it? It’s very hard to win, man. It’s very hard, very hard to please everyone.“
The Santos icon then turned his sights on the media for what he described as fabricated narratives. “What surprises me most—actually, it doesn’t surprise me—is the people. These people who act like they are by my side every day and start inventing stories, saying these things as if they were the absolute truth, as if they were always right. It’s very complicated being me, goodness. I really have to have the patience to put up with you guys, you know?,” Neymar concluded.
With the Mirassol game now behind him, Neymar’s last remaining opportunity to make a case for himself comes in Santos’ Brasileirão fixture against Corinthians on Sunday the 15th. The final squad list for the March window is set to be released the following day, and while members of Brazil’s coaching staff are expected to be in attendance, Ancelotti himself will not be present. It may be Neymar’s final chance to force his way back into the Seleção picture.
