Neymar Jr, the highest goalscorer in Brazil’s football history, has retired from international football. After Brazil’s dream ended at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 34-year-old forward has now formally announced that he is hanging up the national team shirt.
Neymar confirmed the end of his international career on Tuesday after Santos beat the Venezuelan club Universidad Central 4-2 in the Copa Sudamericana.
Announcing his farewell to the national team, Neymar said: “My journey with the national team is over. I made history and had many good moments. I gave my blood, my life, everything for the yellow shirt. But I do not want to carry on now.”
Neymar made his debut for Brazil’s senior side in 2010, at the age of just 18. Over a 16-year international career he scored 80 goals and made 59 assists in 130 matches, taking his place as the highest goalscorer in Brazil’s history.
Alongside his personal success, however, his dream of winning the World Cup or the Copa América went unfulfilled. Speculation about his retirement grew after Brazil’s exit to Norway in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. Neymar was overcome and broke down in tears at MetLife Stadium at the end of that match. In the end it proved to be the final chapter of his international career.
Neymar is now focusing on club football. Coming on as a substitute against Universidad Central, he played an important part in the Santos win. The result secured Santos a place in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana, where their next opponents will be Macará of Ecuador.
Neymar has also dismissed recent talk that he insulted younger team-mates. He said he had held a constructive discussion about the team’s performance as captain at the end of the match, but that this had been misrepresented and reported misleadingly in the media.
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