Neymar, Pelé’s heir remained in the shadow of Messi and Ronaldo. The history, the numbers, the injuries and the character limitations that held back the king of dribbling
He really looked like he could be Pelé’s heir. He seemed like the right man for bring the World Cup back to the Verdeoroorphans of a stratospheric generation that saw in the national team sacred monsters such as Ronaldo the Phenomenon, Ronaldinho, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and many other champions.
Then, a middle generation less rich in quality, than that Brazilian samba that made the opponents dance while the ball traveled and very often ended up in the net. And finally, the prodigal sonNeymar, comes to light. The legacy was collected at Santos, the team in which Pelè had played for almost his entire career. And so, from O’Rey to O’Ney is a moment. In that initial period in his homeland, he won three consecutive championships and a Copa Libertadores, making himself known internationally.
Neymar’s golden years in Europe
The Barcelona he falls in love with him, and decides to do crazy things for him: he spends almost 90 million euros to place him alongside Messi. The following year, together with the latter and Luis Suárez, what is perhaps the most lethal attacking trident ever to exist in the history of football was created: the so-called MSN. A total of 364 goals and 171 assists between 2014 and 2017. Crazy numbers of which Neymar is the absolute protagonist.
And also comes the satisfaction of the Champions League, in 2015. The Golden BallHowever, it remains a taboo. Overshadowed by the stars (including media ones) of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, O’Ney always remains one step lower than these two, missing the appointment with the most coveted individual recognition in the world of football.
He thus decides to distance himself from his Argentine classmate and CR7. Try your luck at PSGa team where champions such as Kylian Mbappé, Ángel Di María and many other exceptional players play. The team, with its excessive technical and economic power, dominates in France. Yet, European satisfaction will not arrive even with the advent of Messi, who reunites with the Brazilian star in Paris. And even less does the long-awaited Ballon d’Or arrive.
Injuries and the downward trajectory
The years pass, and with them the physical problems begin. A top-class player like Neymar, whose effectiveness relies heavily on his speed, comes through clearly limited by similar injurieswhich slow down his feints and inhibit his unpredictability. But he is also blocked by profound character obstacles. And so, at the Parc des Princes he often misses half the season due to constant problems with his right ankle. However, he remains a player who makes the difference when he takes the field.
Little satisfaction also in the national team. With the Verdeoro, O’Ney only won the Confederations Cup way back in 2013 (a tournament all in all of modest importance). The best opportunity to retrace the steps of the great Pelé comes at the 2014 World Cup, where Brazil reaches the semi-final. Unfortunately, Neymar was stopped in the quarterfinals due to a bad save from Zúñiga. In the penultimate act of the competition, the Brazilian ace watches helplessly historic defeat of their national team 7-1 against Germany (winner of that edition of the World Cup).
Sad elimination against Belgium at the 2018 World Cup, where Neymar offers flashes of his talent. The years continue to pass, inexorable. And Brazil exits again in the quarterfinals in 2022, on penalties, at the hands of Croatia.
Neymar’s sad epilogue to the 2026 World Cup
O’Ney wasn’t at his best at the dawn of the 2026 World Cup. But he knew it would be his last opportunity to lift the trophy. He was limited by one of his usual, cursed injuries, after a second degree calf injury. By now, he seems like a shadow of his former self. After two years in Saudi Arabia at Al-Hilal, where he practically didn’t play due to physical problems, Neymar finally returned home, to Santos. Where it all began, where Pelé had designated him as his natural heir. But the version admired in the golden years of his youth and of Barcelona has vanished. Like the dull memory of a dream shortly after waking up.
The people want it, demand it. Carlo Ancelotti, a legend of Italian football both as a player and as a coach, has no choice. He is among the 26 players called up. But he never appears among the owners. No, the truth is that he plays (badly) less than 60 minutes in the entire tournament. He is desperately inserted, as “savior of the country”, for the last half hour of the round of 16: Brazil-Norway. The star of the national team is no longer him, but Vinicius. Younger and livelier. Yet, far from having the talent needed to be compared to Pelé.
O’Ney is a different breed. Or rather, it was. Converted a (needless) penalty in the 100th minute. The result is an inexorable 2-1 against the cynical Norway of the ruthless center forward Erling Haaland. Of Neymar, what remains is the tears (and regrets) of a career that he deserved better luck, more trophies and more recognition. But there also remain the plays, the emotions, the inexhaustible talent of one of the most formidable players (on a technical level) that football has ever expressed.
