Brazil forward Neymar signals World Cup farewell
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New Delhi: Brazil player Neymar has stated that the next FIFA World Cup 202, which begins on Thursday, will be his final tournament.
Brazil will compete in the FIFA World Cup for the record-extending 23rd time next year. Indeed, the Selecao are the only team to have competed in each edition of the global extravaganza, which will be held for the first time in three host countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The 34-year-old made the statement in response to a social media post from FIFA showing images of Neymar's career along with the words, "We've watched him grow up," reports Xinhua.
"The last dance," the Santos attacker replied in the comments section, using a phrase associated with NBA legend Michael Jordan's final season with the Chicago Bulls in 1997-98, IANS reported.
Neymar, Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 128 international matches, has not played for Brazil since suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in October 2023.
He has since suffered a series of injuries, the latest of which is a calf strain that could keep him out of Brazil's opening match against Morocco on June 13.
Neymar made his international debut at the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. He took just 28 minutes to open his account – uncharacteristically with a forcible header – in a 2-0 win against the USA in East Rutherford.
He was the golden boy of the 2014 World Cup on home soil, but was stretchered off with a back injury in the quarter-final win over Colombia. He gained redemption when he led Brazil to Olympic gold at Rio 2016, scoring the winning penalty in front of his own fans at the Maracana.
But at the 2018 World Cup, the former Barcelona forward was only just fit after more injury troubles and failed to make a great impact. Brazil lost in the quarter-finals.
Neymar left the spotlight of European football in 2023, departing Paris Saint-Germain for Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal. After just two months, he suffered a knee injury and did not return to play for them.
The last memory of Neymar in a Brazil shirt came later that year, when he was carried off on a stretcher in tears with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during a 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat by Uruguay.