Brazilian President Lula mocks Neymar’s World Cup absence with “Work from home” taunt.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has sparked attention with a humorous remark about Neymar’s injury-hit World Cup campaign, joking that the star striker has become the first national team player to work “from home”.
Lula said this during an event in Belo Horizonte, capital of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, while also announcing investments in the country’s public health care system. During an interaction with the audience, the president asked a young boy who he thought was the best player on the Brazil team.
“Neymar” replied the child.
The response drew laughter from Lula, who said: “Neymar doesn’t even play, man. Neymar is the first national team player working from home in the world. A player working from home.”
The Brazilian leader then revealed that he came across the joke on social media before adding another snarky comment.
“I saw it yesterday on the Internet. Any day they will have to put together a national team using artificial intelligence, Pele’s eleven,” Lula said, referring to the late Brazilian soccer icon Pele, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
The remark quickly attracted attention given Neymar’s status as Brazil’s biggest soccer star. The striker is yet to play in the ongoing FIFA World Cup after suffering a calf injury ahead of the tournament.
Neymar’s absence was particularly notable as he remains one of the most recognizable names in world football and Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer. The 34-year-old also publicly endorsed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Lula’s political rival, during the previous election, adding another layer of interest to the president’s comments.
On the pitch, Neymar missed Brazil’s first two games in Group C. He was unavailable for the opening 1-1 draw against Morocco and also featured in Brazil’s 3-0 win over Haiti.
Instead of traveling with the team to the Haiti game in Philadelphia, Neymar remained at Brazil’s training base in New Jersey to continue his rehabilitation program. The forward is said to have been training twice a day in an attempt to speed up his return.
On Saturday, Neymar took part in physical and ball training alongside left-back Alex Sandro, who is also recovering from injury.
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the victory in Haiti that Neymar would rejoin the squad ahead of the team’s final group stage game against Scotland. However, the Italian coach did not guarantee the striker’s availability, a final decision is expected after training on Monday and Tuesday.
Brazil are looking to secure their place in the knockout rounds and Neymar’s potential return would provide a timely boost as the tournament enters a crucial stage.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
21 Jun 2026 02:10 IST