"Today the day started with training and then a trip to the cinema with them. Oh, there was also a little bit of poker on the cell phone" — and just like that, Neymar weaponized a laughing emoji against his critics.
The post went viral almost immediately. Some fans read it as a man comfortable enough in his own skin to shrug off the noise. Others read it as exactly the kind of attitude that gets players left off World Cup squads.
The trigger was straightforward: Neymar was spotted playing online poker during a weekend in which he didn't feature for his team. That's a combination that tends to inflame opinion, and it did. His sarcastic response — equal parts self-aware and dismissive — only added fuel.
The poker debate is a distraction from the real problem
Neymar's relationship with poker has always attracted commentary, but the timing here matters. He's not a player coasting through a contract. He's a player trying to claw his way back to relevance after a serious ligament injury in 2023 that effectively wiped out a year and a half of his career.
His return to Santos FC generated genuine excitement — local hero, fresh start, emotional storyline. Then the muscle problems arrived, and the momentum stalled again. It's the same cycle that's defined the latter half of his career: a glimpse of what he can do, then a setback that resets expectations.
Carlo Ancelotti has been managing Brazil with a clear philosophy: players need rhythm, intensity, and regularity. By that measure, Neymar is currently nowhere near the front of the queue. Brazil's pool of European-based attackers is deep, and most of them have played 30+ matches this season while Neymar has been working his way back from another muscular complaint.
The 2026 World Cup window is closing
The Brazilian Football Confederation isn't hiding its uncertainty. With the tournament on home soil across North America in 2026, the pressure to get selections right is significant — and patience for high-profile projects that keep stalling is running thin.
Neymar's talent has never been the question. Even at reduced capacity, there are things he does that no other Brazilian player does. But Ancelotti picks squads to win football matches, not to honor legacies.
The poker post was funny. The situation isn't.
