Neymar opens up on retirement and hits out at press: It'll make players ill

Neymar opens up on retirement and hits out at press: It'll make players ill

Early on Monday evening (3), Neymar attended the 6th Auction of the Neymar Jr. Project Institute.

The Santos star revealed that he would not stay for the entire ceremony because he needed to "go home and rest."

After all, Peixe faces Remo this Tuesday (4) in Belém, Pará, for the second leg of the 2026 Copa do Brasil round of 16 (first leg: 0-0).

Before the event, the No. 10 star vented against the press, asking them to "stop talking nonsense because this is going to end up making a lot of players sick."

"I just think a good part of the press is going to make all football players sick. I mean here in Brazil. It’s the biggest profession, the best-known one here in Brazil, and the most attacked. So I think people need to be a little more careful with their words, with the news they put out, because most of it isn’t true. And that ends up hurting the people around them, their fans, their own work. So I ask them to be more careful before posting these things, before talking nonsense that isn’t real, because this is going to end up making a lot of players sick."

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The psychological side of athletes was a topic Neymar made a point of highlighting.

"A player's mental side is strong; I think mine is very strong, by the way, but not everyone is like that. Some suffer more, others suffer less. So I just ask that people take more responsibility for their words, because it’s very easy to have a microphone in your hand and say whatever you want, and the next day, if it’s not true, everything is fine, no one corrects it, no one says anything, you know? These things end up crossing the line."

Finally, Neymar spoke openly about his contract with Santos and the possibility of retirement at the end of the 2026 season.

"I don't know how much longer (I’ll keep playing), I’m not thinking about stopping, and I don’t even know until when I’ll go on. I have a contract with Santos until December. I intend to fulfill it, honor the Santos shirt in the best way possible, and then I’ll think about it when my contract ends—whether I stay at Santos, whether I leave, whether I go away, whether I stop playing or keep going."

Neymar's father was also present at the event and commented on the recent controversy involving his son, who was not "backed" by coach Cuca for the match against Remo.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

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