Neymar reveals World Cup in Qatar may be his last
The 29-year-old striker made the remarks in the documentary "Neymar & The Line Of Kings," which was produced by DAZN. On Sunday, the channel's Twitter feed posted a snippet.
"Man, I think it will be my last World Cup," Neymar said. "I am facing it like the last World Cup because I don't know whether I will be able to, mentally, to endure more soccer.
"I will do everything possible to get there very well," he added. "I will do all I can to win it with my country and realize my dream, the biggest since my boyhood. I hope I can achieve it."
Neymar will play for Brazil against Colombia in a World Cup qualifying match later on Sunday. After nine games, the Selecao leads the 10-team round robin play with 27 points.
Due to his suspension, the striker did not play in Brazil's 3-1 triumph over Venezuela on Thursday.
Neymar will play in Barranquilla for the first time since a 2-0 win against Peru on September 10, in which he had an assist and a goal in a crucial Brazil effort. Despite his efforts, Neymar expressed his dissatisfaction with his treatment at home after the match.
"I don't know what else I need to do with this shirt for people to respect Neymar," he said. In the 1-0 win over Chile earlier in September, local media accused the striker of being out of shape, prompting the striker to stroll around shirtless during training to demonstrate his fitness.
With 12 goals against Peru, Neymar surpassed Romario as Brazil's best goal scorer in World Cup qualifiers. He's also closing in on Pele's 77 official goals for Brazil. 69 goals for Brazil have been scored by the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
Neymar has appeared in two World Cups so far. In the 2014 World Cup, he suffered a back injury in the quarterfinals against Colombia, preventing him from playing in the 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the semifinals.
Neymar had just returned from a significant foot injury in the most recent edition of the competition and put forth an underwhelming effort in Brazil's 2-1 quarterfinals loss to Belgium. He left Russia under fire for what appeared to be an overblown reaction to being fouled.
With Brazil, Neymar won the 2013 Confederations Cup. He also won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The striker was injured prior to the Selecao's victory at the 2019 Copa America, which they won at home.
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