Key Points
- Neymar, 34, retired from Brazil after its 2-1 World Cup loss to Norway on July 5.
- He leaves as Brazil's all-time top scorer with 80 goals, three ahead of Pelé.
- He made his Brazil debut and played his last match at the same New Jersey stadium.
- He is not retiring from club football and is expected to play on at Santos.
Neymar has retired from the Brazil national team. The 34-year-old confirmed the decision after Brazil's 2-1 round-of-16 loss to Norway on July 5, the defeat that ended the five-time champions' 2026 World Cup. He leaves as the country's all-time leading scorer with 80 goals, three clear of Pelé.
The end was raw. Neymar scored Brazil's only goal, a stoppage-time penalty, then slumped to the turf in tears at the final whistle before teammates lifted him up. There was a symmetry to where it happened: he made his Brazil debut against the United States at this same New Jersey stadium in August 2010. "I tried, I tried," he said. "Now it's over. I started here, I finished here."
For a generation, Neymar was Brazil's designated heir to Pelé and Ronaldo — the No. 10 who was supposed to deliver a sixth World Cup star. He got the scoring record but never the trophy; injuries shadowed his biggest tournaments, and an exit to Erling Haaland's Norway closes his international story one title short of the standard set for him. He is not finished with football — he is expected to keep playing for Santos, the club where he started, through the end of the year — but the yellow shirt is off for good.
This World Cup was unkind to him from the start. He missed matches with a calf injury and was named to the 26-man squad on reputation and the hope of fitness, and the tournament became a farewell rather than a coronation. Brazil, for their part, exited before the quarterfinals — a stage they had reached at every World Cup since 1994.
Source: ESPN and Fox Sports.
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