Neymar plans to retire before World Cup

Brazil Before Neymar has admitted he could retire at the end of the year as he continues to battle fitness issues in the latter stages of his career.

The 34-year-old, still the world's most expensive footballer following his £200 million move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, has suffered repeated injuries in recent seasons. Despite this, he is aiming for another major international appearance and hopes to compete in the World Cup this summer.

Neymar returned to his boyhood club Santos in January 2025 after leaving Saudi club Al-Hilal and subsequently extended his contract until the end of 2026.

However, his return was disrupted. After a first year in Brazil following injury, knee surgery in December ruled him out of the start of the new domestic season and he only returned to the field last week.

Speaking to Brazilian online channel Caze, Neymar admitted he did not know how long he would continue playing.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen from now on, I don’t know about next year,” he said.

“It may be that in December I want to retire. I'm living from year to year now.”

Neymar remains Brazil's all-time top scorer with 79 goals, surpassing Pelé's long-standing record. However, he has not represented the national team since October 2023 and faces a difficult task to earn a recall under head coach Carlo Ancelotti ahead of the match. World Cup.

He acknowledged the scale of this challenge, but made it clear how important the coming year was to him.

“This year is a very important year, not only for Santos, but also for the Brazilian national team, because it is a World Cup year, and for me too,” he added.