Brazilian national team striker and Paris Saint-Germain player, Neymar da Silva, stated that the upcoming World Cup in Qatar 2022 may be the last of his football career. The 29-year-old made these comments in the documentary "Neymar and the Kings' Lineage," produced by the German network DAZN, which shared excerpts on Twitter on Sunday.
Neymar said, "I believe this will be the last World Cup for me. I see it as the last one because I do not know if I have the mental strength to deal with football after that." The Associated Press reported Neymar expressing, "For that reason, I will do everything I can to end my international career well. I will do everything to win the World Cup with my country, to achieve the biggest dream of my childhood, and I hope I can do that."
Neymar will join the Brazilian national team later on Sunday to face Colombia in the World Cup qualifying matches. The Seleção is at the top of a 10-team group with 27 points from nine matches. The striker missed the match in which Brazil won 3-1 against Venezuela on Thursday due to suspension.
The Colombia match will mark Neymar's return since the 2-0 victory over Peru on September 10, where he had a standout performance with an assist and a goal. Despite his efforts, Neymar expressed after the match that he is upset about the treatment he receives in Brazil.
He said, "I don't know what else I have to do with this shirt for people to respect Neymar." Local media accused the striker of losing fitness during the 1-0 victory over Chile earlier in September, prompting him to train without a shirt to demonstrate his fitness level.
Neymar has participated in two World Cup editions so far. In 2014, he sustained a back injury in the quarterfinals against Colombia, which prevented him from playing in the match where Germany inflicted a heavy 7-1 defeat on Brazil in the semifinals.
