NEYMAR has been accused of holding Brazilian football “hostage” – after it was revealed he has been hiding the true extent of his World Cup calf injury.
The Samba superstar, 34, was included in Carlo Ancelotti’s 2026 squad after senior stars including Casemiro and Vinicius Jr pleaded his case.
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Neymar was named in Brazil’s World Cup squad Credit: AFP
The star has been accused of holding Brazilian football ‘hostage’ Credit: AFP
Ancelotti only named the Santos man after an intense and emotional video conference 24 hours before the squad was confirmed earlier this month.
But it has now emerged that the forward’s calf injury is far more serious than he or Santos admitted.
And some players are now privately questioning whether they have been misled – and might have been mistaken in advocating for his selection.
While many fans – especially kids – celebrated when Ancelotti confirmed Neymar in his 26, the fact is that he has not played for Brazil since October 2023 and has endured an injury-plagued spell since returning to his home town club from Saudi Arabia.
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And that has continued over the past weeks.
On May 17, in his last Brazilian league game against Coritiba, Neymar had pulled up with a calf problem but Santos told the FA it was a small fluid buildup and minor bruising, meaning he would be fit to train from Day One of the national team camp.
Ancelotti and his staff confirmed his selection – and swiftly smelled a rat.
Neymar arrived by a specially painted helicopter at Brazil’s training camp in Teresopolis, outside Rio, on Wednesday.
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As always, the last of the 26 to arrive, the helicopter’s tail had the initials NJR while inside it had been kitted out with a full Batman theme – seats, panelling and other details, marking Neymar’s obsession with the fictional superhero of Gotham City.
But the main passenger was in no condition to even start training.
Brazilian FA chiefs announced he would instead have “further medical evaluations” on his right calf, which saw the team chief medic Rodrigo Lasmar accompany him for an MRI scan, with doctors at the clinic forced to sign a full confidentiality agreement before the examination started.
When he returned a few hours later, Neymar was lying down on the back seat of the car, visibly distressed, in tears and clearly shaken by what he had just been told.
That message was outlined by Dr Lasmar the following day: a grade two muscle tear, meaning up to 50 per cent of the muscle fibres are partially ruptured, with internal bleeding and significant inflammation. The best possible time-frame for recovery: two to three weeks.
Neymar has already been ruled out of Brazil’s warm-up games against Panama at the Maracana on Jattvibeday and Egypt in Cleveland on June 6.
Privately, Ancelotti has already dismissed any chance of him featuring in his team’s opening game with Morocco in the MetLife Stadium outside New York on June 13, with the other group games against Haiti and Scotland deemed touch-and-go at best.
But to the growing consternation of some of the players who had championed him, Neymar will remain with the squad and fly to the US with them next week.
Neymar has suffered a calf injury Credit: Reuters
The Brazilian was the last to arrive for the team’s training camp Credit: EPA
Questions have now been raised over the scale of the initial misdiagnosis by Santos – and whether the club deliberately attempted to pull the wool over Ancelotti’s eyes.
There have even been claims across the Brazilian media that the whole operation was directed by Neymar’s father – although there is no evidence to back that up.
One prominent insider explained: “It feel like the whole of Brazilian football is being held hostage by this Neymar drama.”
Ancelotti’s decision is now being put in the spotlight, too.
The Italian had made it clear that he would not select unfit players and had ignored Neymar’s claims throughout his 12 months at the helm of the Selecao.
It is even suggested that Ancelotti and his staff had studied the GPS data from his matches with Santos, found the numbers well below elite standard and decided he would not be in the World Cup on those grounds – only to perform a huge and public U-turn.
Ancelotti was handed a new four-year contract on May 14, four days before his squad was named.
Within two days of the squad being announced, Neymar had secured a further £7m in sponsorship endorsements, all World Cup-related.
It means the biggest story of the world’s favourite team could turn out to be a player who never kicks a ball, despite being named in the squad.
Neymar has until June 12, the day before the Morocco match, to prove he IS fit enough to play a part. The clock is ticking – and his team-mates no longer have the same faith as they did.
