Ronaldo has urged Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti to bring Neymar back into the squad for next year’s World Cup in North America.
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 79 goals in 128 games, has been absent from the national team since October 2023 after suffering a serious knee injury.
Now 33, the forward returned to Santos in January after an unsuccessful stint at Al Hilal and has been playing regularly. Despite this, Ancelotti has yet to call him up in his four matches in charge.
“He is a decisive player for the Brazilian team. We don’t have another like Neymar,” said Ronaldo, a two-time World Cup winner, during a publicity event in São Paulo.
“The people hope he will be at the World Cup because with him, Brazil’s chances are much better,” added the 49-year-old, who netted 62 goals in 99 appearances for the Selecao.
Neymar’s career has been repeatedly disrupted by injuries. He missed the 2019 Copa America triumph on home soil and joined Al Hilal in 2023, but played just five times before tearing his cruciate ligament against Uruguay. He spent a year sidelined and managed only two more appearances before returning to Santos.
Ancelotti has previously explained Neymar’s exclusion, stating he “needs to get in better shape to help the national team and to give the best of himself at the World Cup.”
