'He thinks he's still young!' - Neymar accused of 'messing up' Santos tactical plan by ex-Brazil team-mate

Neymar's last outing came in a 2-1 defeat against Novorizontino, which saw Santos dumped out of the Campeonato Paulista at the quarter-final stage by the Serie B club. The Brazilian was at fault for Novorizontino's opener in an under-par showing by the forward.

Manager Juan Pablo Vojvoda backed Neymar after the game and said he will get back to his best. He told reporters: "Neymar is in great physical shape, he completes all the training sessions. He played the full 90 minutes for the first time this year.

"I have a lot of confidence in him. His game will flow and evolve game by game. And I am responsible for ensuring that confidence comes. I have a lot of confidence in him and I trust every player in the squad.

"He will motivate the players. Neymar will push himself to achieve the goals he has set for himself at Santos and with the national team."

Former Brazil star Luis Fabiano, who briefly played with Neymar at the start of his international career, has analysed his old team-mate's performance and feels he "messes up" Santos tactically by dropping deep to get the ball. The former striker also feels Neymar needs to adapt his game as he "isn't 20 years old anymore."

"Neymar is the one who messes up the team tactically. I watched a bit of Santos' game. Every time he goes to get the ball from the defender's feet, the midfielders, wingers, and forwards don't know what to do. He goes to get it there, the guys don't know whether to move, stay, or stay close to him, and the play doesn't develop," Fabiano told ESPN.

"When a player reaches a certain age, he thinks he's still young, that he's doing things he did at 20. He has to adapt to a new style of play. I think that's what Neymar is missing. Staying up front and waiting. One chance doesn't come, two don't come, but he stays there, eventually it will come and he'll be fresh enough to do it."

Neymar has made no secret of the fact that he wants to play for Brazil at World Cup 2026 despite injuries having blighted his career in recent years. However, he faces a battle to convince manager Carlo Ancelotti of his qualities, with the Italian not expected to call Neymar up for international friendlies in March against France and Croatia.

Ancelotti has said previously that Neymar must prove his fitness if he wants to make the squad. 

"We are not going to observe how Neymar plays, obviously. Everyone knows his talent," Ancelotti told ESPN Brasil's Pedro Ivo Almeida. "In modern football, to take advantage of his talent, the player has to be in good physical condition. If he is in his best physical condition, he will have no problems being in the national team.

"Everyone wants Neymar in the national team in good physical condition. I spoke with him, and I said 'you have time to prepare in the best way to be there and help the team try to do their best in the World Cup.'"

This could be a big year for Neymar. He recently signed a new contract with Santos until the end of 2026 and is still dreaming of World Cup glory with Brazil. However, the forward has admitted that he could be tempted to hang up his boots afterwards. 

"I don't know what will happen from now on, I don't know about next year," he told Brazilian online channel Caze. "It may be that when December comes, I'll want to retire. I'm living year to year now."