By Ayomide Otitoju
Brazilian legend Ronaldo has urged national team coach Carlo Ancelotti to reinstate Neymar in the Selecao squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 79 goals in 128 appearances, has not featured for the national team since suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury against Uruguay in October 2023. The 33-year-old forward returned to boyhood club Santos in January after an injury-disrupted stint at Saudi side Al Hilal and has since been playing regularly in Brazil’s top flight.
Despite his return, Ancelotti has not included Neymar in any of his four squads since taking charge. Speaking at a publicity event in São Paulo, Ronaldo said the forward’s presence could prove decisive for Brazil’s World Cup hopes.
“He is a decisive player for the Brazilian Selecao. We don’t have another player like Neymar,” said Ronaldo, a two-time World Cup winner who scored 62 goals in 99 appearances for Brazil. “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 there.”
Neymar has endured a series of injury setbacks in recent years, missing Brazil’s Copa America victory on home soil in 2019. After leaving Paris Saint-Germain for Al Hilal in August 2023, he managed just five appearances and one goal before his injury forced him to the sidelines for a year.
Following his omission from the squad for World Cup qualifiers in September, Ancelotti said Neymar still needed to regain full fitness before he could make a meaningful contribution to the national team.
