Neymar believes that the next World Cup in Brazil will be his last. He doesn't know if he can "mentally endure" another.
The 29-year old striker made the comments in Neymar & The Line Of Kings documentary, which was produced by DAZN. A portion of the interview was posted on the channel’s Twitter account on Sunday.
Neymar stated that he believes it (2022), will be his last World Cup. "I'm facing it like the last World Cup, because I don’t know if I will be mentally able to endure more soccer."
"I will do all I can to make it happen." I will do everything I can to win it for my country and fulfill my greatest dream since my boyhood.
Neymar was part of the 0-0 draw Brazil played against Colombia on Sunday, in a World Cup qualifying match. Brazil is leading the round-robin qualification competition of 10 teams with 28 points after 10 matches. Because of suspension, Neymar was unable to play in the 3-1 victory at Venezuela last week.
Image: Brazil defeated Venezuela in the World Cup Qualifiers last Wednesday in Neymar’s absence
Brazil coach Tite was questioned about Neymar’s sub-par performance. There were 17 missed passes, and 30 possession losses.
He said, "He's an extraordinary player because he makes incredible plays. He does it exceptional and not normally." We know that he is a special player. He was also well-marked, sometimes by two people."
Neymar was playing in Barranquilla for the first time since his 2-0 win over Peru on September 10. He had a great performance in Brazil, scoring an assist and a goal. Neymar expressed his frustration with the treatment at home, despite his best efforts.
He said, "I don’t know what I should do with this shirt to get people to respect Neymar."
Local media claimed that the striker was out of shape after the Chile 1-0 victory. This led to the striker wearing no shirt during training to show his fitness.
Neymar, who scored 12 goals against Peru, overtook Romario to become Brazil's top World Cup Qualifiers goalscorer. He also is close to Pele's record, which stands at 77 goals for Brazil. Brazil's striker for Paris Saint-Germain has scored 69 goals.
So far, Neymar has played in two World Cups. He suffered a back injury against Colombia in the quarter-finals, which prevented him from playing in the 7-1 semifinal loss to Germany.
Neymar, who had just suffered a foot injury in the previous edition of the tournament, put in a disappointing performance in Brazil's quarter-final defeat to Belgium by 2-1. In 2018, he left Russia amid criticism over his exaggerated reaction when he was fouled.
Neymar was awarded the 2013 Confederations Cup title together with Brazil and the gold medal at Rio Olympics 2016. He sustained injuries before the 2019 Copa America was won by Brazil at home.
