Why is Neymar Jr. not playing for Brazil in Olympics 2024?
- Neymar Jr. led Brazil to their first gold medal in men's soccer in 2016
- The Selecao also won gold five years later at the Tokyo Olympics
- Neymar did not compete at this summer's Copa America
Some of the world's brightest soccer players are competing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, but fans will not see Neymar Jr. playing for Brazil.
Men's soccer at the 2024 Paris Olympics has officially kicked off as all 16 qualified teams get their group stages underway. Although the tournament is comprised of mostly U-23 players, there are still plenty of familiar faces, including Argentina's Julian Alvarez and France's Alexandre Lacazette, taking center stage this summer.
The host nation, along with Spain and Argentina, are the three favorites to take home the gold medal. For the first time since 2012, a country that is not Brazil will win the ultimate prize in Olympic men's soccer. Neymar won gold with the Selecao back at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and then just five years later, Brazil would go on to win another gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Neymar's Jr.'s recent absence from the national team is just one of the reasons, though, why he is not competing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Why is Neymar Jr. not playing for Brazil in Olympics 2024?
Neymar Jr. is not playing for Brazil in the 2024 Paris Olympics because the 32-year-old tore his ACL back in October 2023 in a World Cup Qualifying match against Uruguay. The devastating injury required surgery, and has kept Neymar off the pitch ever since.
Neymar's injury also prevented the former Barcelona and PSG star from representing Brazil at Copa America 2024. He was forced to watch from the stands as the Selecao crashed out of the tournament in the quarter-finals after being heralded as one of the favorites to win the entire competition.
Even if Neymar was not injured, though, fans would not see him at this summer's Olympics. For the first time since 2004, Brazil failed to qualify for the Olympic Games in men's soccer, keeping the two-time gold medalists at home.
The Selecao's failure to make the 2024 Paris Olympics is just another blunder in their recent disappointing run of form. If the five-time World Cup champions had made the tournament, their youngest stars could have gotten the opportunity to finally deliver a positive result on one of the world's biggest international stages.