The National Security Meeting regarding Neymar

Grab a cold one and pull up a chair, because we have officially reached the stage of the Neymar career cycle where his inclusion in the squad is being debated like a high-stakes tax bill. With the 2026 World Cup kicking off in exactly 57 days, you would think Carlo Ancelotti has enough on his plate. He has got a midfield that could run a small country and a frontline faster than a group chat rumor. But no, Don Carlo is out here reportedly consulting the Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on whether the man with 128 appearances should be on the plane.

It is the kind of story that makes you double-check the calendar to ensure it is not April Fools' Day. According to Mirror Football, the Italian mastermind actually sought the President's take on Neymar's current status. This is like a Michelin-star chef asking the local mayor if he should put pineapple on the pizza. It is absurd, it is peak Brazil, and it has set the internet on fire from Rio to Reykjavik.

The core of the issue is that Neymar isn't dancing through European defenses anymore. He is back home with Santos, operating as a 34-year-old nostalgia act who still has the feet of a god but the durability of a glass vase in a earthquake. The forums are divided into two camps: the loyalists who think he is the only one who can unlock a low block, and the realists who think he is a luxury the Seleção can no longer afford to carry.

The Reddit civil war over the Number 10

If you wander into any Brazilian football thread right now, the toxicity is high enough to peel paint. One side is screaming that you don't leave a guy with his experience at home when the trophy is on the line. They argue that even a 70% fit Neymar provides a psychological edge that makes defenders reconsider their life choices. They point to those 128 caps as a reason to respect the legend. To them, Neymar is the soul of the team, the only one who truly understands the weight of that yellow shirt.

Then you have the skeptics, and they are getting louder by the hour. Their argument is simple: the game has moved on. While Neymar is playing at a slower pace in Brazil, the rest of the world has turned into a collection of track stars who press for 90 minutes. They see Ancelotti asking the President for advice as a sign of weakness, or perhaps a tactical move to shift the blame if the tournament goes south. If the President says yes and Brazil fails, Carlo can just shrug his shoulders and point toward the presidential palace.

The skeptics aren't just being mean for the sake of it. They have a point. Brazil's attack is currently headlined by Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, two guys who are winning Champions Leagues while Neymar is dealing with the physical reality of a decade of being kicked by every defender in Ligue 1. There is a genuine fear that shoehorning Neymar into the starting eleven will kill the fluidity that Ancelotti has spent months trying to build.

The Santos factor and the reality of the Paulistão

Let's be real for a second. Neymar playing for Santos is a beautiful story. It is the prodigal son returning to the club that made him, a romantic sunset for a career that has been as chaotic as it has been brilliant. But playing in the state championships is a world away from facing a motivated France or a disciplined Germany in the knockout rounds of a World Cup. The drop in intensity is real, and the worry is that Neymar's match fitness is currently tuned for a different sport entirely.

Every time he goes down after a light challenge at Santos, a collective shiver goes down the spine of every Brazilian fan. We have seen this movie before. We saw it in 2014, 2018, and 2022. The script always involves a metatarsal injury, a dramatic recovery, and a tearful exit. At some point, you have to stop watching the same rerun and try a new show. The negative observation here is that Neymar hasn't finished a tournament fully healthy since he was basically a teenager, and banking on him now feels like putting your life savings on a horse with a limp.

Ancelotti is known for his man-management, but this feels like he is over-managing. Why involve the President? Is the political climate in Brazil so intertwined with the national team that the manager needs permission to bench a superstar? It feels like a move designed to appease the old guard and the sponsors rather than a decision based on what happens on the grass. It is the kind of bureaucratic nonsense that usually precedes a disappointing quarter-final exit.

The stronger argument for moving on

If you ask me who has the better case, I am siding with the skeptics. Football in 2026 is about transition speed and high-intensity pressing. Neymar is a maestro, but he is a maestro who wants the orchestra to stop so he can play a ten-minute solo. Against the elite teams, that's a death sentence. The Seleção looks better when they are playing at 100 miles per hour, utilizing the terrifying pace of their younger wings.

The pro-Neymar camp will tell you that experience is everything, but experience doesn't track back and help your fullback when a 22-year-old winger is flying down the flank. Neymar's defensive contribution has always been somewhere between zero and negligible, and at this stage of his career, you are essentially playing with ten men whenever Brazil loses possession. That is a massive gamble for a manager who is supposed to be the pragmatic king of Europe.

Ancelotti needs to trust his gut, not the guy in the presidential office. If he thinks Neymar can be an impact sub, fine. Give him the last twenty minutes to do something magical when everyone else is tired. But the idea that he is still a locked-in starter is a fantasy that needs to be buried. We are 57 days away from the tournament opening on June 11, and the fact that we are still talking about a politician's opinion on a winger's fitness tells you everything you need to know about the current state of Brazilian football.

In the end, this debate is less about football and more about the myth of Neymar. Brazil is a nation that loves its idols, and admitting that your biggest star is no longer the man is a painful process. But if they want to win that sixth star, they need to stop looking at the past and start looking at the monsters they have on the wings right now. Sorry, Mr. President, but you should probably stick to the economy and let the man with the eyebrow handle the tactics.