Neymar's worrying physical change: he no longer looks like a soccer player

2023 must have been one of the worst years in Neymar Junior's life. He was sacked from Paris Saint-Germain just days before the start of the season and had to look for a new club to continue his professional career. His wish was to return to Barcelona, but the Catalan side rejected him and so he ended up agreeing to join Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal.

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There he signed a multi-million dollar contract, with a salary in excess of $100 million per season, but things did not turn out as he expected: he barely played five games for the Pro League side before suffering a serious knee injury while playing against Uruguay for Brazil in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. As a result, he had to undergo surgery and begin a recovery process that will last until the end of the season.

Three months have passed since then and things have not improved for him. During the last few weeks he has been involved in some scandals related to his private life and now he is in the news for another reason that has nothing to do with soccer: his physical appearance.

Ney was invited to the 58th birthday party of another legendary Brazilian player, Romario, who shone with Barcelona and Valencia and was world champion with Brazil in the United States in 1994. There, the Al-Hilal forward took several photos that later reached social media and caught the attention of fans. He looks very different from the appearance he had just a few months ago: he has grown a beard and, although he had a lot of clothes and that can cause confusion, he seems to have gained a lot of weight. All this added up to a Neymar who looks less and less like a professional athlete.

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When will he play again?

Neymar underwent surgery in October and doctors' prognoses estimated that his recovery will take at least six months, although it will probably be longer. In fact, Al-Hilal considered that he will no longer play this season and therefore removed him from the list of players registered in the Pro League to include Renan Lodi in his place. And the Brazilian national team will not be able to count on him for the Copa America starting on June 20.