Ancelotti Stays Calm as Brazil’s Greats Go to Bat for Neymar

The noise around Neymar and Brazil’s World Cup plans has been building for weeks, and Carlo Ancelotti finally had to face it head-on.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Brazil’s friendly against France in Boston, the Italian coach addressed the increasingly loud debate over whether the country’s most celebrated player deserves a place in the squad for this summer’s tournament in North America. His response was measured, almost philosophical, and told you a great deal about how he intends to handle the pressure bearing down on him from all sides.

“I observe everything, I listen to everything,” Ancelotti said. “But my role is to make decisions. It’s normal that everyone can have an opinion, because football isn’t an exact science. Everyone has their opinion, and I have to respect that.”

It was a diplomatic answer, but then the situation demands diplomacy. Neymar was left out of Brazil’s warm-up squad earlier this month, and within days a report emerged claiming his chances of featuring at the World Cup are, in the words of those close to the situation, practically zero. That prompted an immediate and passionate backlash from some of the most recognisable figures in Brazilian football history.

Romário was characteristically direct. The 1994 World Cup winner made no attempt to soften his message to Ancelotti, arguing that a player of Neymar’s standing belongs at a World Cup almost by right. “A star player has to play,” he said. “The national team is the place for the best and most talented. Preparation for the World Cup lasts a month, sufficient time for an athlete to recover and build chemistry with the group. It is better to have a star player like Neymar, even when he is not at 100%, than to call up any other player.”

Ronaldo Nazário, the man who dragged Brazil to glory in 2002 through sheer force of will, was rather more measured but no less clear. “If Neymar is physically fit, I would take him to the World Cup,” he said. “If he is, I am certain that Ancelotti will take him. He can help.”

The weight of that backing is hard to overstate. When two of the finest Brazilian players who ever lived speak with one voice on a selection matter, any coach would be unwise to dismiss it out of hand.

Yet Ancelotti’s problems may run deeper than fitness alone. According to reports, there has been growing tension behind closed doors between Neymar and officials at the Brazilian Football Confederation. The CBF is said to be unhappy with how the player responded to his omission from the warm-up squad, with some within the organisation feeling he has been stoking a sense of grievance through the media and among supporters. It is a delicate situation, and one that goes well beyond the straightforward question of whether a 33-year-old can get himself fit in time.

Neymar, for his part, has not played a competitive match since suffering a serious knee injury in October 2023. His return has been painfully slow, marked by setbacks and false dawns, and the uncertainty over his physical condition remains genuine. Ancelotti has consistently left the door open, but the impression now is that it is barely ajar.

Whether sentiment, pressure, and the advocacy of legends is enough to push it open again remains to be seen.