Brazil's all-time leading scorer retired from international duty

After picking up a serious knee injury while tied to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, Neymar retraced steps to boyhood club Santos when being released from his lucrative contract in the Middle East.

Highs and lows have been experienced back in his homeland, with the 34-year-old playmaker seeing his every move and performance dissected in minute detail. More issues have been endured on the fitness front.

They prevented him from making the desired impact at the 2026 World Cup, with tears flowing before international retirement was announced with 130 caps and a record-setting tally of 80 goals to his name.

Will Neymar reunite with Messi & Suarez in MLS?

Neymar will see his deal at Santos expire before the end of the calendar year. It has been suggested that he will tempted to go chasing the North American dream at that stage, with the reformation of ‘MSN’ alongside Messi and Luis Suarez at Inter Miami being mooted.

Anderson believes another marquee deal for Herons co-owner Sir David Beckham would make a lot of sense. The ex-Manchester United and Brazil midfielder - who was speaking in association with talkSPORT Bet Online Slots - told GOAL when asked about a move to Florida for Neymar: “I think he's going to go.

“Neymar now doesn’t need money. It's not about money. It's about the perfect fit. For him to play. I think if Neymar played every game in the World Cup, I think Brazil can go a little further.”

Anderson went on to say of Neymar wanting to escape the spotlight that he finds himself operating under in Brazil: “There was so much talk before the World Cup. People were like, ‘why are you bringing him?’ If you don't bring him, people talk. If you bring him, people talk.

“The media in Brazil is very hard on Neymar. If Neymar went to any other national team, anyone, England, anyone, people would go crazy for him. The people don't understand what Neymar did for PSG. No one knew PSG before Neymar went there. If you take all the games Neymar played for PSG, it's ridiculous. He took the p*ss with the players!

“You call one person from television in Brazil, ‘I don't think Neymar is a top player’. Neymar has scored the most goals for the national team. Neymar just didn’t win a World Cup. Neymar won Copa America. Neymar won the Olympics. Neymar won the Champions League. Neymar scores the most goals. What do you mean Neymar is not a top player?!

“That guy helps 2,000 kids per day. Tell me one other player who does that? Sadio Mane, he is doing a lot in Africa. The guy gave from his pocket. He gave food for 2,000 people. Every day. 2,000 kids every day. Why don’t people talk about that?

“People who understand football always protect him because we know how things work in Brazil. My kids, when Neymar goes from the national team, my kids cry. My kids don't cry for me! They cry for Nemar.

“For that generation, for the last 20 years, that guy has made so many kids happy. That guy helped so many people in the country. Where the government don't help. It's a lot of money to help 2,000 kids. Food every day. Not everyone can do that. He takes from own pocket.

“The people keep going, ‘bad character, bad genes’. Tell me one other player who gives food every day for 2,000 kids. From his own pocket. I don't know. It doesn’t matter, I will always defend him. Because I think Neymar is one of the most top players I saw play. The top, top players. Take all the generations, Brazilian national team. All the players. Neymar has been at the top.

“It is a different thing if you don’t like the person. If you have money, you have to have a helicopter, you have to have boat, you have to spend. If you don't spend, your kids are going to spend. Some kids do sh*t to your money. You work so hard so you have to enjoy it.

“And some players from Brazil don't like the guy. I'm happy when the guy buys a helicopter. He deserves it. He worked for that. It’s his own money. You don't like the guy because he has a helicopter? Come on. That is stupid.

“The people forget that he helps 2,000 kids every day. No one says that. No one on television. I never see it. He doesn't talk. He doesn't say, ‘I help’. He stays quiet. He stays quiet every year. Every year with his charity he brings in 30 million, 40 million for his charity.

“I respect people like that because where I come from, I was very poor. I leave my house when I was 11 years old, no money. No nothing. My mother has four kids. Single mother. And God bless Neymar, he has a good father who looks after him. If I have one person like his father, like his mom, probably I have more money.

“That’s not the case for a lot of people in Brazil. A lot of the players come from very poor families. I lived at the club in Gremio for two years. Down below. Like down below the stadium. Where the stadium people sit. I lived there. Me and Lucas Leiva from Liverpool. Me and him lived together down below.

“Some players don't have the family. Neymar has a good father, good mother to help him and his career - they always cared about him and looked after him. The boy got what he deserved.

“He doesn’t just win one cup. He wins the Champions League, wins the league, wins for the national team, the most goals. For me, I think this is enough. He's a top player.

“It’s very sad that he doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or. How can you say to people in my time he doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or? That is crazy. But he is a top, top player. You can take Ronaldo. Never won the Champions League. You say Ronaldo is a top player. That is the beauty of football. People criticise Neymar for no reason.”

Neymar will become a free agent when Santos contract ends

Neymar has learned over the course of his remarkable career how to ignore the external noise that he generates. He tries to play with a smile on his face, with his dazzling trickery all about entertaining the masses and getting supporters on their feet.

That travelling circus may soon be packing bags for the United States. Questions have been asked of whether another aging superstar is what MLS needs, but there is no doubting that ‘MSN’ in Miami would capture the imagination of a global audience.