At just 29 years old, the Brazilian forward has said he is considering the mental aspect of his career rather than any physical ones and might put a hold on his football career.
“I think Qatar 2022 will be my last World Cup because I don’t know if I have the mental strength to deal with football anymore,” he told DAZN.
“I will do everything to get there in good shape, to win with my country, to fulfil the dream I have had since I was a child and I hope I can achieve it.”
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In a documentary about the Brazilian forward, called ‘Neymar Jr. Dinastia de Reyes’ , he recalled his vertebrae injury that brought an end to his 2014 World Cup.
“It was one of the worst moments of my career. It ruined my dream of playing in a World Cup, playing the semi-final, the final… I couldn’t move my feet. I started to cry uncontrollably,” Neymar said.
“They took me to the hospital, they examined me and the doctor told me: ‘I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which one do you want?’ And I said, give me the bad one.
“He said: ‘You are out of the World Cup’. Crying, I told him, ‘What is the good news?’ To which he told me: ‘If it had been two centimeters to the side, you would not have been able to walk again,” he concluded.