"I only felt that pain, I just wanted it to stop" - Neymar opens up on the horrors of dealing with recent injury that led him to think of retirement

Brazilian superstar Neymar has shared the horrors of dealing with his recent injury. The former Barcelona forward claimed that he considered retiring due to his pain following his recent injury setback.

The Al-Hilal star was injured on international duty shortly after joining the Saudi Pro-League outfit from Paris Saint-Germain in a reported €90 million deal in the summer of 2023. He has only played 428 minutes across seven games for the side.

Speaking on the recent Netflix documentary, Saudi Pro League: Kickoff, the Brazilian said via talkSPORT:

“Some days when I wake up, I want to give up. I admit, this injury is the one that shook me the most in my career. 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," he continued.

Neymar added:

“I’m not 20 anymore, I was 31 when it happened. I’m very grateful to have my friends and family around. To have my children who motivate me every day."

Neymar recently returned from his long-term injury setback but picked up another hamstring injury, which is expected to see him sidelined until the middle of December.

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“It was a mix of emotions. I was really happy and then I got injured" - Neymar discusses becoming a father

Neymar recently discussed becoming a father in his comments on Netflix's documentary about the Saudi Pro-League. The former PSG star welcomed his first child recently and is set to embark on a new chapter of his life.

He discussed family matters in the documentary, saying via talkSPORT:

“It was a mix of emotions. I was really happy and then I got injured. So you start thinking about a lot of different things, but the good thing was that I was able to be around her almost every day, which was good for me. It helped me and was a safe haven at the time.”

The 32-year-old is a legendary figure in his homeland, with 128 caps for his national team. Neymar's 79 goals for Brazil saw him overtaking legends like Pele to become the highest goalscorer for the South American nation.