He could have been one of the greatest players of all time, but he won't be
Few stories in modern football carry the weight of unfulfilled promise quite like Neymar's — a player whose gifts were never in question, but whose path through the game has left observers like former striker Neto mourning what might have been. Excluded from Ancelotti's national team squad and carefully managed at Santos to protect an aging, fragile body, Neymar arrives at the final chapter of his career with one meaningful stage remaining: the World Cup. It is a moment that invites reflection not just on one man's choices, but on the ancient tension between talent and stewardship, between what we are given and what we do with it.
- Neymar's absence from Ancelotti's friendly squad is not a surprise — it is the latest chapter in a long pattern of exclusion and diminishment that Neto can no longer watch in silence.
- The former player turned broadcaster delivered a verdict that stung precisely because it came wrapped in admiration: a talent of historic proportions, he argued, quietly squandered through poor decisions and mismanagement.
- At Santos, the fragility is visible and immediate — Neymar was left out of the match against Cruzeiro not for lack of desire, but because his body must be rationed like a resource that could expire without warning.
- At thirty-two, the player once considered the heir to Pelé's legacy is being handled like fine crystal, his minutes measured, his workload negotiated between ambition and physical reality.
- The World Cup looms as the last door still open — a final opportunity to rewrite the narrative, though Neto's tone suggests he has already composed the ending.
On a Saturday broadcast, former player Neto returned to a subject that clearly unsettles him: what Neymar was supposed to become, and what he became instead. The occasion was Carlo Ancelotti's squad announcement for upcoming friendlies — a list from which Neymar's name was absent. For Neto, the omission was not the story. The pattern behind it was.
Speaking with the directness of someone who has watched this unfold for years, Neto did not question Neymar's talent — he called him exceptional, a generational gift. The failure, in his view, was never about ability. It was about the decisions made around and by the player, the way a career of historic potential was allowed to drift. "He could have been one of the greatest of all time," Neto said, "but he won't be." He left one door open: the World Cup, Neymar's last, a final chance to alter what is being written about him.
At Santos, the present is more fragile than the future. Coach Cuca left Neymar out of the squad for the match against Cruzeiro at the Mineirão, a precautionary decision after a demanding run of games. The club is managing his physical load with care, unwilling to risk an injury that could close that last door entirely.
The contrast is difficult to ignore. Once the player every team wanted on the pitch, Neymar at thirty-two is now carefully rationed — his minutes counted, his body treated as something precious and precarious. Neto's critique reaches beyond the immediate: he is arguing that extraordinary talent, without the right stewardship, is not enough to secure immortality. The World Cup remains, but his tone suggests the verdict is already forming.
Neto, the former player turned broadcaster, has spent much of his career watching talent bloom and wilt on Brazilian football pitches. On Saturday, sitting in the studio for "Na Mesa com Datena" on TV Brasil, he returned to a subject that clearly troubles him: Neymar's trajectory, and what might have been.
The occasion was routine enough—Carlo Ancelotti had released his squad list for the national team's upcoming friendlies, and Neymar's name was absent. But for Neto, the omission was less about this moment than about a pattern stretching back years. He spoke with the directness of someone who has watched the same film too many times and knows how it ends.
"This guy was supposed to be the greatest player after Pelé," Neto said, his tone cutting through the usual broadcast pleasantries. He did not dispute Neymar's gifts—he called him exceptional, a monster of a talent. The problem, in Neto's view, was not what Neymar could do with a ball at his feet. It was what Neymar did with his career. The decisions, the path taken, the way the whole thing was managed. "He could have been one of the greatest players of all time," Neto continued, "but he won't be."
There was finality in that statement, but also a sliver of possibility. Neymar still has one door left open: the World Cup. It would be his last one, Neto noted—a final chance to alter the narrative, to leave something different behind. Whether that chance materializes depends on factors beyond Neymar's control now, and perhaps on factors that have always been beyond his control.
Back at Santos, where Neymar is trying to rebuild his career, the picture is more immediate and more fragile. He is not yet fit enough to play a full role. Coach Cuca made the decision to leave him out of the squad for Sunday's match against Cruzeiro at the Mineirão, a precaution born from necessity. Neymar had played several games in quick succession, and the club wanted to manage his physical load carefully, to avoid the kind of injury that could end everything before it begins again.
It is a strange position for a player of his stature: managed like glass, excluded from matches for his own protection, waiting for his body to catch up with the demands of the game. The contrast is stark. Once, Neymar was the player everyone wanted on the pitch. Now, at thirty-two, he is a player being carefully rationed, his minutes counted, his workload distributed like a precious resource that might run out.
Neto's critique cuts deeper than the immediate circumstances. He is saying that Neymar had the tools to be remembered alongside the immortals of the sport, and that somewhere along the way—through choices made or circumstances endured—that possibility slipped away. The World Cup remains, but Neto seems to have already written the ending. What happens in that tournament will either prove him wrong or confirm what he already believes: that exceptional talent, mismanaged or misdirected, is not enough.
Citações Notáveis
This guy was supposed to be the greatest player after Pelé. He is exceptional, a monster of a talent, but he left that behind.— Neto, former player and broadcaster
He could have been one of the greatest players of all time, but he won't be.— Neto
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
When Neto says Neymar could have been the greatest after Pelé, is he talking about what Neymar did on the field, or how he lived his career?
Both, really. The talent was never in question—everyone agrees on that. But Neto is saying the decisions, the moves between clubs, the way the career was shaped—all of that prevented the talent from becoming what it could have been.
So it's not that Neymar failed at football. It's that he failed at being Neymar.
That's closer. He succeeded at football in many ways. But there's a difference between being a great player and being one of the greatest of all time. Neto thinks Neymar had the raw material for the latter and squandered it.
Why does the World Cup matter so much now? He's thirty-two. Isn't it just one tournament?
It's his last one. After this, there won't be another chance. So it's not just a tournament—it's the final opportunity to change how history remembers him. That weight is real.
But he's being managed carefully at Santos, kept out of matches. How can he be ready for a World Cup if he can't even play regularly?
That's the tension. He needs minutes to be sharp, but his body needs rest to stay healthy. It's a narrow path, and there's no guarantee he finds his way through it.
Does Neto think he will?
No. Neto seems to have already accepted that Neymar won't reach that highest level. The World Cup is a last chance, but Neto doesn't sound hopeful.