Neymar makes a shocking career announcement after Brazil’s loss to Norway. The footballer suggested the match was his final one, hinting at his international retirement. Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, he suffered a calf injury, which kept him out of some friendly matches and Brazil’s opener against Morocco.
Neymar indicated that his international career had reached its end
Neymar spoke to Bruno Formiga, a pundit for Brazilian channel GE TV, following Brazil’s 2-1 defeat to Norway, extending the wait for a sixth World Cup title. While Neymar briefly spoke about his feelings after the loss, he also referred to his retirement. “I tried, I tried … Now it’s over! I started here, I finished here.”
This is also an allusion to the stadium in New Jersey, where the match was held and where he also made his football debut in 2010 (via Reuters).
The news has left fans stunned as they took to social media to share their reactions to this announcement. A fan wrote, “Tributes to Neymar! End of an era. The talent was never in doubt! Good run. History has your name carved in ts annals.” Another said, “The prince who never became king.” A third one mentioned, “End of an era.” “Fell to my knees. The wonder kid from Santos I can’t believe it,” a fourth one wrote.
Other reactions also included, “Makes me sick how his career has ended,” and “Happy retirement, forever one of the greatest yet the unluckiest player ever. I’ll miss you forever, thank you for the memories.”
This is not the first time he has brought up the retirement talk to the media’s attention; it resurfaced earlier this year as well. He revealed when he plans to retire. “I don’t know what will happen from now on, I don’t know about next year. It may be that when December comes, I’ll want to retire. I’m living year to year now,” he said.
Moreover, Neymar shared his thoughts on his comeback appearance as a substitute in the second half of a São Paulo championship match following his knee injury. “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 percent,” he elaborated.
