Neymar has spoken out about the ACL injury that kept him sidelined throughout nearly his entire time with Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal.
The Brazilian superstar suffered the injury in October 2023 while on international duty, just weeks after he made his Al-Hilal debut. What followed was a long and arduous recovery that made Neymar question his future in the sport, with the 32-year-old admitting in the Netflix documentary Saudi Pro League Kickoff that "some days when I wake up, I want to give up."
While injuries have unfortnuately been a frequent occurrence for Brazil's all-time leading goalscorer, Neymar explained that the timing of this setback took a bigger toll on him than previous ones.
“I admit, this injury is the one that shook me the most in my career," he said. “I was really sad, and very down mentally for the first month. I knew it was a serious and long-term injury.
“Being on the sidelines is tough. The beginning of an injury is quite complicated. At the start, you only feel pain. I only felt the pain, I just wanted it to stop.
“I wanted to bend my knee as quickly as possible so that I could regain my movement and make the pain go away.
“If you don’t have the people you love by your side, your family, your friends, then it can be difficult to come back from an injury like this. It really messes with your mind and your body.
“I’m not 20 anymore, I was 31 when it happened. I’m very grateful to have my friends and family around."