France star Kylian Mbappé cannot envision his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar missing the World Cup.
Injuries have kept Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, out of the national team since Oct. 2023.
He is in a race against the clock to regain his fitness in time to play at his fourth World Cup this summer.
“The World Cup is a competition of stars,” Mbappé said ahead of tonight’s World Cup warmup game against Brazil.
“All the stars are here, and in my book, Neymar is one of the biggest stars. I can’t imagine the World Cup without Neymar. But in the end, I can’t go against my former coach, [Carlo] Ancelotti. I have to respect his decision.”
Asked if this Brazil squad is that of Neymar or of his Real Madrid teammate Vinícius Júnior, Mbappé said: “Vini now needs to take another step forward with the national team, but Neymar is Neymar. Neymar is a fantastic player.”
Vinícius, meanwhile, is rooting for Neymar to be fit for the World Cup. “The pressure on Ney is normal,” he said. “I’m biased, Ney is one of my idols. He’s doing everything to be 100%, to return to the national team.
“Now, the decision rests with the coach. But we players always want to play with the best.”
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Vinícius is expected to lead Brazil’s attack against France. Ancelotti, who will announce his World Cup squad on May 18, insisted Neymar still has a chance to make the cut provided the Santos forward is 100% fit.
Former Brazil stars have joined the debate on whether Ancelotti should take Neymar even if the player is not at his best.
Asked about the ongoing debate on Neymar’ absence, Ancelotti said on Wednesday: “I observe everything, I listen to everything. But my role is to make decisions. It’s normal that everyone can have an opinion, because football isn’t an exact science.
“Everyone has their opinion, and I have to respect everyone’s opinion.”
