"He will have to sacrifice himself" - Ronaldo Nazario responds when asked if Neymar Jr will feature for Brazil at 2026 FIFA World Cup
Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario has backed Neymar to feature at the 2026 World Cup but believes the forward will need to sacrifice a lot to be back on the biggest stage. The Santos forward hasn't played for the national team due to a series of injuries since October 2023. This has left question marks over his international career, with just over a year to go until the tournament in North America.
While the winger is pushing for a return to the Selecao squad, Ronaldo Nazario has insisted that talent alone won't be sufficient to get the 33-year-old in. He said on the Charla Podcast (via GOAL):
"I believe [Neymar will be at the next World Cup]. Neymar has a wonderful talent, but he will have to sacrifice himself. It depends only on him.
"It's a sacrifice that's worth it. The World Cup is one year away. If he gets there at a good level, we have a good chance. But he's going to have to sacrifice. He's going to have to eat, train and sleep."
Ronaldo remains one of Brazil’s greatest strikers, whose career was marred by injuries as well.
Neymar turned down massive Madrid offer before joining Barcelona, says agent
Real Madrid attempted to lure the Brazilian winger before he signed for Barcelona in 2013 with an astronomical deal, according to the forward's close agent and former scout Andre Cury. The agent told UOL that the Spanish giants had submitted a tax-free bid of over €100 million, which was rejected.
The forward joined Barcelona in a cheaper deal, but eventually became one of the club’s top earners, as Andre Cury claimed (via Barca Universal):
“The deal I’m most proud of among the ones I did at Barcelona was the Neymar deal. He had an offer from Real Madrid of more than €100 million tax-free for him, but with work, with Messi, we managed to convince him with a much lower amount. He arrived on a lower salary, but he left Barcelona with a top-three salary."
His career at Camp Nou saw him win eight trophies and put up magnificent performances, up until his world-record €222 million move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.