Neymar once seriously considered stepping away from football as persistent injuries took a toll on his body and mindset. His father and agent, Neymar da Silva Santos Sr., revealed that the Brazilian superstar was emotionally shaken while dealing with a torn meniscus and ongoing fitness concerns.
Despite the setback, Neymar featured in crucial moments for Santos last season. He eventually underwent surgery on his left knee on December 22, hoping to reset both physically and mentally.
In a YouTube interview, Neymar Sr. opened up about a deeply personal conversation with his son before the operation.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, ‘𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆… 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓,’” 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅.
World Cup Dream Rekindles Neymar’s Fight
Seeing his son mentally drained, Neymar Sr. urged him to focus on recovery and unfinished dreams—especially winning the World Cup. Santos has been battling injury problems since tearing his ACL and meniscus during an international match in October 2023.
“𝑰 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒚, 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖,” 𝑵𝒆𝒚𝒎𝒂𝒓 𝑺𝒓. 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
That support proved decisive. According to his father, Neymar’s mindset changed almost overnight.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, ‘𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅,’” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Santos returned to Santos in January 2025 and played half of the Brazilian Serie A season, scoring eight goals—four of them late match-winners that helped the club avoid relegation.
Now expected to be fully fit before the 2026 season, Santos remains Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 79 goals in 128 appearances and has represented his country in three World Cups—proof that retirement, for now, is firmly on hold.
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