Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior walked back into the CT Rei Pelé training centre on Friday, reporting for duty at Santos for the first time since Brazil’s elimination from the 2026 World Cup. The forward underwent physiological tests and worked alone in the gym, with the club confirming he will follow an individualised programme based on those results. No date has been set for his return to full training, let alone match action. The caution reflects a season in which the 34-year-old has managed only eight of Santos’s 19 Brasileirão matches, contributing four goals and two assists, after left-knee surgery late last year.

His World Cup amounted to 37 minutes across two appearances. Summoned by Carlo Ancelotti almost three years after his previous cap, Neymar arrived at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico carrying a right-calf problem. He featured briefly against Scotland in the group stage and then started the round-of-16 tie against Norway, scoring a penalty in a 2-1 defeat that ended Brazil’s campaign. At the final whistle he collapsed in tears and told reporters, “It ends here,” a remark widely interpreted in South American and European media as the close of his international career. An AI-generated video later circulated online showing a young Neymar urging his present-day self to chase a sixth world title in 2030; the player responded with three laughing-crying emojis.

His father and agent, Neymar Santos Sr, responded with a public letter released via Instagram. “Son, keep playing football. Feel the joy of having the ball at your feet again; smile on the pitch again,” he wrote. “Don’t be afraid of tomorrow.” The intervention came amid press speculation, noted by outlets in the Middle East and Latin America, that Neymar might retire altogether. A Santos official, speaking anonymously, told international news agencies that the first question the club faced was whether the player would stop playing.

His contract runs until December, and a source at the club said any renewal will depend heavily on board elections scheduled for the same month. President Marcelo Teixeira, who drove the January 2025 return from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal, has not declared whether he will seek re-election. Brazilian media reports indicate that Neymar is also weighing a move to Major League Soccer, with negotiations with FC Cincinnati having taken place but failing to reach a deal. The MLS already houses veteran stars such as Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Müller, a factor that analysts in North America see as making the league a plausible destination.

For now, Santos must plan without clarity on their most influential player. The club sits 15th in the Brasileirão, one point above the relegation zone, and faces a Copa Sudamericana playoff first leg away to Universidad Central of Venezuela on Tuesday. Neymar will not be available. His next appearance in a Santos shirt remains contingent on a recovery timeline the club refuses to rush, leaving the immediate sporting consequence a team fighting on two fronts while its talisman watches from the treatment room.