Brazil forward Neymar has revealed he could retire at the end of the year, saying he is taking his career “year to year” after a string of injury setbacks.
The 34-year-old, whose world-record £200 million transfer from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 remains the highest fee paid for a player, has struggled with fitness in recent seasons.
Neymar rejoined his boyhood club Santos FC from Saudi side Al Hilal SFC in January 2025 and later extended his contract through 2026.
However, injuries have continued to disrupt his return, including knee surgery in late December that sidelined him at the start of the Brazilian season.
He only returned to action last week.
“I don’t know what will happen from now on, I don’t know about next year,” Neymar 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 added.
Despite uncertainty over his club future, Neymar hopes to feature at this summer’s World Cup. He is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, surpassing the legendary Pele by two.
However, he has not played for Brazil since October 2023 and acknowledged that breaking into coach Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad would be a “huge challenge.”
“This year is very important - for Santos, for the national team and for me,” he said.
