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- 7 hours ago
Neymar stands Ancelotti up as sister's birthday 'curse' strikes for 11th time
Martin Macdonald
- 11 Mar 2026 09:01 CDT
- 6 min read
News
Neymar just seems to have the worst luck in and around his sister's birthday.
For over a decade, the Brazilian superstar has been forced to miss matches for his respective team due to suspensions, injuries and other fitness issues.
This occurred at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Al-Hilal and now Santos.
It's all become a bit of a running joke among football fans as Neymar always misses matches around 11 March - his sister Rafaella Santos' birthday.
This week it was confirmed that he will miss Santos' next match as the club wishes to manage his physical conditioning.
It's the 11th year in a row that Neymar won't be in action around this date.
This absence may be the most damaging yet, too, as Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti was set to be in attendance for Santos' next match in order to scout Neymar for the upcoming 2026 World Cup. The superstar's form and fitness issues over the last year have meant he is by no means a guaranteed pick in the World Cup squad.
He has indeed been selected for Brazil's final two friendly matches before the tournament in order to prove himself to Ancelotti. However, the legendary Italian boss may be upset that this mysterious absence means he won't get to see him in action for Santos.
Neymar had three final opportunities to prove himself, and is now down to two.
After the news circulated that the "curse" of his sister's birthday had struck again, he defended himself on social media, saying on Instagram:
"If I play while hurt, I’m wrong. If I think about myself, I’m wrong. If I hold back, I’m wrong. If I play with pain, I’m wrong. It’s really difficult to please everyone. I’d very tough to be me. I have to be tough enough to take it!"
Neymar reacted on social media after criticism for missing Santos’ game against Mirassol 📲 pic.twitter.com/4oiFO5hig1
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 11, 2026
Neymar sued by personal chef
Neymar is being sued by his former personal chef who was reportedly forced to work 16-hour days, resulting in medical problems and physical trauma.
The chef, who has not been named in the legal proceedings as of yet, was initially hired to work 7am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, and 7am to 4pm on Fridays.
However, Neymar reportedly had an entourage of up to 150 people with him at any given day in his villa in Casa Hotel Portobello in Rio de Janeiro's Mangaratiba municipality which led to the chef having to work through legally-required lunch breaks and as late as midnight on some days.
Brazilian outlet Metropoles reports that the chef routinely had to work 16-hour days, far more than her contract stipulated.
The workload, having to do everything herself, and having to carry around extremely heavy shopping bags as well as 10kg slabs of meat led to her developing physical problems like an inflamed hip and back problems.
The chef's legal team stated in an official document: "The claimant did not regularly enjoy a lunch break. Throughout the entire employment contract, the plaintiff was required by the defendant to clock in for the lunch break, even though she remained actively working during that period."
The employee was paid around £1,065 per month and is now seeking a total of £37,544 in damages for severance pay, medical bills, unpaid overtime and damages for working more than her mandated hours.
Neymar returned to Brazil with Santos after a disastrous spell with Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. At the moment, he is desperately trying to prove his fitness to Selecao boss Carlo Ancelotti in time for the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
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