Brazilian football legend Ronaldo has urged national team coach Carlo Ancelotti to reinstate Neymar in the Brazil squad for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Ronaldo, widely regarded as one of Brazil’s greatest players and a two-time World Cup winner, believes Neymar’s presence could be crucial to Brazil’s success. Neymar, sidelined since October 2023 due to a severe cruciate knee ligament injury sustained during an international match against Uruguay, has since returned to regular action with Santos, the club where his career began. After a brief and underwhelming spell at Saudi club Al Hilal, Neymar has been playing consistently for Santos this year. Despite his comeback, Ancelotti has excluded him from all four squad selections since taking charge of the national team—a decision Ronaldo strongly disagrees with.
“He is a decisive player for the Brazilian Selecao. We don’t have another player like Neymar,” Ronaldo said at a recent event in São Paulo. “The people hope 100 percent that he will go to the World Cup because if he is there, we will definitely have better results than if he’s not.”
Ronaldo’s endorsement carries significant weight. The former striker scored 62 goals in 99 appearances for Brazil, winning the World Cup in 1994 and 2002—the latter campaign marked by his eight goals, including two in the final, cementing his legendary status.
Neymar’s career has been disrupted by injuries, causing him to miss Brazil’s Copa America triumph in 2019. After transferring from Paris Saint-Germain to Al Hilal in August 2023, he played only five matches before his knee injury sidelined him for nearly a year. Upon his return, he appeared just twice more for the Saudi club before rejoining Santos in January 2025.
When questioned about Neymar’s absence from the recent World Cup qualifiers, Ancelotti said the forward needed to regain full match fitness. “He needs to get in better shape to help the national team and to give the best of himself at the World Cup,” the coach explained.
With the World Cup less than a year away, debate over Neymar’s inclusion is growing. For Ronaldo and many Brazilian fans, excluding Neymar would mean heading into the tournament without one of the country’s most talented attacking players of this generation.
