Neymar’s father penned an emotional message for his son after the Brazil forward announced his retirement from international football following the team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 exit, urging him to continue playing the sport he loves.
Taking to social media, Neymar’s father shared a heartfelt note addressed to his son, encouraging him not to walk away from football and to continue his journey on the pitch.
‘Go back to playing soccer!’ Neymar’s father wrote in his message to his son, as quoted by Sports Centre Brasil on X.
Brazil’s star Neymar announced his retirement from international football after the five-time world champions suffered a 2-1 defeat to Norway in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 at MetLife Stadium.
The 34-year-old forward brought the curtain down on his international career moments after Brazil’s hopes of a sixth World Cup title were ended by Erling Haaland’s late brace, with Neymar scoring a stoppage-time penalty that proved only a consolation.
Reflecting on the end of his journey with the national team, Neymar told reporters, “I tried, I tried. Now it’s over. I started here; I finished here.”
Neymar will retire as Brazil’s highest-ever goal scorer
Neymar’s penalty, converted in the 10th minute of added time after Leo Ostigard was penalised for a foul on Casemiro, was his first goal of the tournament. It also took his international tally to 80 goals and 59 assists in 130 appearances for Brazil, further extending his record as the nation’s all-time leading scorer.
During his time with the national team, Neymar helped the country lift the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and won the Olympic gold medal on home soil at the Rio 2016 Games.
The star forward’s participation in the World Cup had remained uncertain until the final stages of squad selection because of fitness concerns. However, head coach Carlo Ancelotti included him in Brazil’s 26-man squad, hoping his experience would inspire another deep run in the tournament.
Instead, Brazil’s campaign ended in dramatic fashion. Norway, appearing in the knockout stages with growing confidence, absorbed Brazilian pressure before Haaland broke the deadlock in the 79th minute with a towering header from Andreas Schjelderup’s cross.
For Brazil, the defeat marked a seventh consecutive World Cup knockout loss to European opposition and their earliest World Cup exit since 1990.
(With ANI inputs)
