Many footballers of the newer generation name Neymar as their idol, or at least as the player with the best skill among active players. And whoever looked at his games in the early days, when he played for Santos and Barcelona will understand why. But for years now, the famous Brazilian is not what he used to be, not even close. The 33-year old’s slow decline started when he moved to PSG in 2017 and rapidly grew in his last season in Paris. After 2023, it got visibly worse and many believe that only the idea of retiring after another World Cup (USA 2026) is keeping Neymar in the game. He had many injures and when people thought he went through the worst while in Saudi Arabia, his vows continued as he made an emotional return to his boyhood club Santos. His short-term deal at Santos is running down, with his father claiming that the 33-year-old has attracted interest from teams in Europe that could see him return to a Champions League stage before gracing the World Cup finals next June.Remember corona? Neymar has itBut the reality is that few clubs will ask for the Brazilian, considering that he barely played in his native country due to injuries. During his career, he was known for partying a lot (as almost every Brazilian out there), but his father was quick to dismiss any links between his frequent injuries and off the field life.“We have to stop believing that it’s Carnival every night. On the field, he’s professional. Off it, it’s his life. He goes out when it’s vacation or when he’s off. The injuries didn’t happen because he went out with girls. Do you think he injured his cruciate ligaments because he played poker?” said Neymar Senior to L’Equipe.Neymar just casually hitting a flush in a high stakes poker game 😅pic.twitter.com/tVI7WljOxm— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) June 21, 2022 Even thou there are plenty of footballers in the world today who play excellent and attractive football, the player’s father decided to name only those who are either Brazilians or who openly idolize Neymar.”There aren’t many people who entertain me. Lamine Yamal, Desire Doue, the Brazilians too: Raphinha, Vinicius Jr… It’s thanks to them that we watch football. And for them, Neymar is a world reference, an inspiration. When I hear Doue say that he loves my son, I’m happy” he said. He also added that he was happy to see PSG win the Champions League after his son left and that he congratulated president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi: “He is a friend. We were part of this project. Nasser knows we climbed the mountain together” said Neymar Senior. FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025Matchday 1TuesdayBoca Juniors – Benfica 2-2 (2-1)/Merentiel 21, Battaglia 27 – Di Maria 45+3 pen, Otamendi 84/Flamengo – Esperance 2-0 (1-0)/De Arrascaeta 17, Araujo 70/Fluminense – Dortmund (0-0)22:00: (1.60) River Plate (3.90) Urawa RD (6.00)Wednesday00:55: (2.90) Ulsan (3.15) Mamelodi (2.55)04:00: (5.90) Monterrey (4.00) Inter Milan (1.58)19:00: (1.07) Manchester City (13.0) Wydad Casablanca (25.0)22:00: (1.33) Real Madrid (5.90) Al Hilal (9.50)Thursday00:55: (2.85) Pachuca (3.35) Salzburg (2.50)04:00: (12.0) Al Ain (6.50) Juventus (1.22)***odds are subject to change***
