Neymar warns his career could end sooner than expected: ‘I might want to retire in December’

This year can be very special for Neymar for various reasons. After dealing with injuries for several consecutive seasons, he seems determined to make a full recovery Santos to return to the Brazil national team before the FIFA World Cup 2026. But it could also mean the end of his professional career, as he himself admitted.

“This year is very important for Santos and for the Brazilian national team because of the World Cup, so for me too. It’s a very big challenge,Ney said during a recent interview with CazeTVmaking it clear that his goal is to reach top form on the field again.

However, the 34-year-old forward was brutally honest when discussing his future beyond the current season. “Right now I’m just taking things year by year. I don’t know what’s going to happen from here.” I don’t know what will happen next year,” he acknowledged before delivering a striking sentence: “I might want to retire in December. Don’t know. It will be what my heart decides.”

This isn’t the first time Neymar’s retirement has been part of the conversation. In reality, his father revealed that the Brazilian star was seriously considering that possibility a few months ago, when his physical problems became unbearable. “I don’t even know if it’s worth operating. For me, that’s it,” were the words Ney himself said at the time, according to his father.

Neymar focused on returning to Santos at full strength

While it is clear that Neymar’s main goal this year is representation Brazil at the World Cup 2026 in North America he understands that to secure a place Carlo Ancelotti‘s 26-man roster, he must first deliver consistent performances with Santos and prove he is fully healthy.

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“I wanted to return 100 percent this season, so I held back in some matches and took extra care of myself.. I know a lot of people say a lot of nonsense, but they don’t know what happens day to day. They don’t know what it’s like.” Ney explained in the same interview. “Santos had a very good plan and it helped me enormously in that sense.”

That’s exactly how it played out. After missing the club’s opening games in 2026, Neymar played 45 minutes and recorded an assist in Santos‘vanquish Velo club in the Paulista Championship on Monday. “I obviously wanted to come back and help my team in the best way possible, but in the end I had to wait a little longer to return 100 percent – ​​without pain, without fear, without anything – and In this last match I was able to come back very well,” the attacker said.

Neymar focuses on the World Cup

Getting back to full fitness was the first step Neymar had to take this year in his aim to return to the Brazilian national team ahead of the World Cup. Now the next step is to return to his best on the pitch, and he is confident he can do that.

“With a lot of training and a lot of perseverance, which is what drives me, I will be able to reach 100 percent. That’s what I want,” Ney explained. He now has around three months of club competition ahead of him, during which he will have to stay healthy and perform at a high level to convince Carlo Ancelotti that he deserves another chance with Brazil.