His tears as soon as Marquinhos' fatal shot on goal smashed on the Croatian goalkeeper's post speaks volumes about his collective but also individual failure.

Born in football in Sao Paulo in the Santos club, like the icon Pelé, "Ney" has long been designated as the successor of the "King", the player capable of offering Brazil a sixth world star, 20 years after the Auriverde's last coronation in 2002.

But the Paris SG striker (30), a genius dribbler from futsal and planetary marketing icon, again stumbled at the worst time, symbol of a career cut short by injuries and punctuated by disillusionment.

The comparison with Pelé, three times world champion, will stop at the number of goals scored with the selection.

By opening the scoring in extra time against Croatia on Friday, Neymar joined the "King" at the top of the most prolific scorers in the Brazilian jersey (77 goals).

For the rest...

The 2014 World Cup?

Ended on a vertebral injury in the quarters, which could have left him paraplegic, before the humiliation suffered without him, in the semi-final at home, against Germany (7-1).

The 2018 World Cup?

An inglorious elimination in the quarters against Belgium (2-1) and planetary mockery for the propensity of the Brazilian N.10 to roll on the ground at the slightest contact.

And finally, the 2022 World Cup ended in another failure, after starting off on the wrong foot for "Ney": sprained ankle in the first match, race against time to heal and elimination on penalties against Croatia on Friday still close to the semi-finals.

"Today is one of the most difficult moments of my career ... what's more in a World Cup, again," wrote Neymar after his injury exit against Serbia (2-0 ).

Arrogance

Taxed with arrogance before the tournament for having published a coat of arms of Brazil surmounted by a hypothetical sixth star, the one who is the father of a little Davi Lucca (11 years old) will once again have been caught up in the pressure.

Neymar opens the scoring for Brazil in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Croatia, at the Education City stadium in Doha, December 9, 2022 © Jewel SAMAD / AFP

Its image in Brazil risks being tarnished for a long time.

Already, his support for outgoing far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has turned a part of Brazilian opinion, reviving critics who see in "Neymar Junior" only a spoiled child, the most expensive player in history ( 222 M EUR paid by PSG in 2017) to promises never kept.

The triumphant Neymar of the Barcelona era (2013-2017), an unstoppable gazelle with crazy arabesques, gradually gave way to a more dilettante player at PSG, often injured for crucial matches and capable of falling out with Kylian Mbappé to draw a penalty.

In 2019, on the evening of the elimination against Manchester United in the Champions League, he insulted the referees of the match on social networks.

Two months later, he hit a spectator who chambered him after the lost Coupe de France final against Rennes.

During this same period, a woman accused him of rape, but the Brazilian courts did not initiate proceedings for lack of sufficient evidence.

As for the Spanish justice, it is trying to prosecute him for alleged irregularities around his transfer to Barça, before the prosecution withdrew its charges last October.

Ace of marketing

PSG once considered letting him go this summer, tired of erratic performances and a dubious lifestyle, before "Ney", obsessed with the World Cup in Qatar, delivered a top-flight start to the season. .

Neymar in tears and comforted by Dani Alves after Brazil's elimination from the World Cup, at the Education City stadium in Doha, December 9, 2022 © Adrian DENNIS / AFP

Marketing ace, active on all networks, even Twitch where he is one of the few footballers to broadcast his video game games live, Neymar has 189 million followers on Instagram... but his record is struggling to follow.

If he has a Champions League (2015) and a number of national trophies in Spain and France, the striker born in Mogi das Cruzes, near Sao Paulo, never won the Ballon d'Or which seemed to him promised , nor a major international trophy, a lack that the Olympic gold medal (2016) or the Confederations Cup (2013) could not fill.

Will we still see Neymar in the Auriverde jersey at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico?

The person concerned himself in doubt, as this player calibrated by his father and agent, "Neymar Pai", to be a star from an early age, accuses the wear and tear of years and injuries.

"I don't know if I will still have the condition, the mind, to support even more football," the striker said in 2021 on the DAZN streaming platform.

"Ney" can still change his mind, especially since he is only 30 years old, a long contract at PSG (until 2027) and a huge revenge to take.

"Nothing in my life was given or easy, I always had to run after my dreams and my goals," he wrote at the end of November at the time of his injury.

"Waiting that long for the enemy to cut me down like this? EVER!"

© 2022 AFP