'The most talented player in Brazil' - Carlo Ancelotti told he MUST take Neymar to World Cup as ex-Selecao star risks upsetting Vinicius Junior with Estevao heir prediction

Ahead of his 34th birthday in February, Neymar is being left sweating on his involvement in another major international tournament. He has 128 caps and a record-setting tally of 79 goals to his name, but is finding fitness problems difficult to shake.

A return to his roots was made early in 2025 when rejoining Santos, but a knee operation was undergone at the end of the last domestic season in Brazil. Neymar has not figured for his country since suffering an ACL injury in October 2023.

Quizzed on whether Neymar will make Ancelotti’s plans for this summer’s World Cup, ex-Brazil international Kleberson - speaking in association with ToonieBet - told GOAL: “I really, really want to see Neymar at the World Cup. In terms of fitness, he is really behind everyone now - because of the injuries, because the last year he hasn’t had a lot of minutes on the field. 

“The talent that kid has, as soon as he starts to get a good feel now, gets the good fitness, he can probably help a lot. He will not get into the World Cup at 100 per cent fitness but when the World Cup gets going, especially the way it is now, he can produce well because he is the most talented player that we have in Brazil. Others are at a good level, but nobody can do the stuff this kid can do. 

“He needs to get to a good level with fitness, play minutes and stay on the field. When I look at all the Brazilian players, nobody is like him. Okay we can talk about Vini Junior or Raphinha or Estevao, but the things that Neymar can do with a ball, it makes it scary to mark him. Neymar is the closest I have seen to Ronaldinho.”

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Brazil have looked to Neymar for inspiration for well over a decade now, with somebody needing to step up and fill his boots. Asked who that could be, Kleberson added - with Real Madrid and Chelsea wingers considered to be in the mix: “I believe more that it is Estevao than Vini. Just because Vini is a good player, a talented player, but when I look at technique and how comfortable they are with the ball, Estevao is a little bit more twinkling on the ball than Vini. 

“Vini is the winger, fast guy, but Estevao can move his body a bit more, he has some ginga, he can move in the right directions. 

“Moving him to the Premier League will be so amazing for him. Being at a big club like Chelsea, with big players around him, he can improve a lot. First seasons are never easy for anyone, especially a young kid. At the World Cup, he can do a lot of stuff that can help us.”

With Neymar shuffling towards international retirement, questions will inevitably start to be asked of where he sits on Brazil’s all-time list. He has no Ballon d’Or or World Cup wins to his name, as yet, and Kleberson admits those failings are keeping him outside of the elite.

A former team-mate of Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, R9, Kaka and Roberto Carlos said: “It’s so hard to put Neymar close to those guys - to Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Pele, even Rivaldo. 

“Neymar is a top player, he’s a magic player, he did so well at Barcelona and Santos. But if he does not have a World Cup, he is going to be the same as Zico - top player, big name, everyone loves him, everyone respects him, but he hasn’t won the World Cup. He could end like that.”

Neymar can ensure that he emulates the achievements of his iconic countrymen by becoming a World Cup winner, but needs to convince Ancelotti of his worth before tickets on a plane heading to North America are handed out.