Neymar sparks fury again after skipping key fixture for poker tournament

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FT Desk

Neymar has again courted controversy after he was spotted playing in a high-stakes poker tournament after failing to travel with Santos for a key Copa Sudamericana fixture.

On Tuesday, the Brazilian side defeated Venezuelan side Universidad Central 4-1 but Neymar was conspicuous by his absence.

Head coach Cuca explained after the win why the superstar didn't make the trip, telling reporters:

"Since he was sidelined for a few days and didn't have a holiday, we decided to let him get even stronger, training hard so he could have a run of games.

Poupado da partida de ida dos playoffs da Sul-Americana, Neymar aproveitou o tempo livre e disputou o Campeonato Brasileiro de pôquer horas antes do jogo do Santos contra a Universidad Central.

(via @connectionpoker)#Neymar #Santos pic.twitter.com/ndJxhEOFq7

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"Now, in ten days, we're going to play four matches. What advantage would it be to bring him here? You saw how hard and exhausting the trip is. He stayed there working, just like [Willian] Arao, Joao Schmidt, and Igor Vinicius, and that gives us more options for the upcoming games."

Although he didn't see a lot of action, Neymar was included in the Brazil squad for the 2026 World Cup. It proved to be a disastrous tournament as they were eliminated in the Round of 16 against Norway, with head coach Carlo Ancelotti questioned for bringing on Neymar as they desperately searched for a comeback against the Scandinavians.

Neymar did actually come off the bench to score a penalty, but that was his only positive contribution in the tournament.

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Rather than travelling with Santos for their fixture in Venezuela, Neymar spent his time at the Brazilian Series of Poker Winter edition. The Brazil forward, whose love of poker is well known, was seen competing in the fourth round of the national championship at the Golden Hall of Sao Paulo's WTC Complex.

At that same tournament in 2025, he emerged with R$53,500 in winnings.

Even though the player has the right to do as he pleases in his spare time, the fact that the tournament was taking place at the same time as the Santos fixture has led to Neymar receiving further criticism from the club's fans.

He did recently post a video on social media of him working hard on the training pitch, apparently appearing to knuckle down ahead of a return for Santos.

Neymar can now fully focus on Santos, too, as after the World Cup he announced his retirement from international football as Brazil's leading goalscorer of all time, with 80 strikes in 130 games.