Former Brazil captain Neymar said he is thinking of retiring at the end of the year after being hampered by injuries but hopes to go to the World Cup first. The ex-Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain striker returned in January 2025 to his boyhood club Santos from Saudi club Al Hilal.
After an injury-interrupted first season he extended his contract until the end of 2026 but then missed the start of the Brazilian season in January after undergoing knee surgery in late December. "I don't know what will happen from now on, I don't know about next year," the striker told Brazilian online channel Caze. "It may be that when December comes, I'll want to retire. I'm living year to year now."
He made his return as a second-half replacement in a Sao Paulo championship match on February 16, 11 days after his 34th birthday. "Obviously, I wanted to come back to help my team in the best way possible, but I ended up holding back a little so I could come back 100 per cent," he said.
Neymar is the all-time leading scorer for Brazil, with 79 goals, two more than Pele, but has not played for the national team since October 2023 when he suffered a serious knee injury against Uruguay.
Carlo Ancelotti has not called up Neymar since taking over as Brazil coach last May. "This year is a very important year, not only for Santos, but also for the Brazilian national team, as it's a World Cup year, and for me too," Neymar said. "So it's a huge challenge."
IOC chief Coventry says unaware of Infantino's presence at Board of Peace meeting, will look into matter
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said she was unaware of world football body (FIFA) chief Gianni Infantino's presence at the first meeting of The Board of Peace along with US President Donald Trump, and said she would look into the matter.
Infantino, who is also an IOC member, took part in the meeting of The Board of Peace, established under Trump with a focus on Gaza's reconstruction fund, and aimed at rebuilding the territory once Hamas disarms.
The FIFA chief appeared on stage with several politicians, sported a red hat with 'USA' on the front and the numbers 45-47, for the two non-consecutive presidencies of Trump. Infantino also displayed the FIFA collaboration agreement with The Board of Peace, which includes building 50 mini-pitches near schools and residential areas in Gaza, five full-size pitches across multiple districts, a state-of-the-art FIFA academy and a new 20,000-seat national stadium.
"I wasn't aware of that, that we had an IOC member front and centre," Coventry told a press conference during the Milano Cortina Olympics. "Now that you guys (journalists) made us aware of it we will go back and have a look at it," she said. "The IOC Charter is very clear what it expects of its members. We will go and research into the alleged signing of documents."
The Olympic Charter states that members must always act independently of commercial and political interests. They also cannot accept "from governments, organisations, or other parties, any mandate or instructions liable to interfere with the freedom of their action and vote," the Charter says.
"I think from the IOC's point of view we will continue to be politically neutral," Coventry said. "That's the only way for us as an organisation to ensure that we allow for there to be fairness on the field of play. That's what we will continue to do as we walk into the future."
Trump has met Infantino several times, with the United States co-hosting this summer's soccer World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.
The US President was also awarded FIFA's inaugural peace prize in December for his efforts to promote dialogue and de-escalation in some of the world's biggest hotspots, the soccer body said at the time.
Coventry, elected in 2025, has not yet met Trump, with the 2028 Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles.