France star Kylian Mbappé cannot envision his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar missing the World Cup. Injuries have kept Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, out of the national team since October 2023.
He is in a race against the clock to regain his fitness in time to play at his fourth World Cup this summer.
“The World Cup is a competition of stars,” Mbappé said ahead of tonight’s World Cup warmup game against Brazil.
“All the stars are here, and in my book, Neymar is one of the biggest stars. I can’t imagine the World Cup without Neymar. But in the end, I can’t go against my former coach, [Carlo] Ancelotti. I have to respect his decision.”
Asked if this Brazil squad is that of Neymar or of his Real Madrid teammate Vinícius Júnior, Mbappé said: “Vini now needs to take another step forward with the national team, but Neymar is Neymar. Neymar is a fantastic player.”
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