President’s playful barbs come as injury-hit Brazil stumble out of the gates in 2026 tournament
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has injected a dose of humor into his nation’s rocky World Cup start, jokingly dubbing injured star Neymar the “first remote-worker player” ever called up to a national team — and playfully suggesting he might sign Lionel Messi to play for Brazil instead.
The 80-year-old president made the remarks during a ceremony at a hospital in Belo Horizonte on Friday, as the Seleção prepared for their second Group C match against Haiti. The comments came after a young boy expressed admiration for Neymar during a conversation about gender equality in sports.
“Neymar? He’s not even playing, man,” Lula replied, according to multiple reports. “I saw something yesterday — Neymar is the first remote-worker call-up in the world. A remote-worker player.”
Lula acknowledged that the term came from a message he had seen on the internet. He added, with a grin, that at the rate things were going, “one of these days we’ll put together a team using artificial intelligence with 11 Pelés.”
A Stalled Start for Brazil’s Record Scorer
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer with 79 international strikes，has been sidelined since suffering a grade two calf strain on May 17 while playing for his club Santos. He missed Brazil’s opening 1-1 draw against Morocco on June 13 and did not travel with the squad to Philadelphia for Friday’s match against Haiti, remaining instead at the team’s base camp in New Jersey to continue his recovery.
The 34-year-old has not played for the national team since October 17, 2023, when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in Montevideo. Despite his absence from competitive action, head coach Carlo Ancelotti included him in the World Cup squad — a decision that raised eyebrows given his recent injury history.
Neymar did train with his teammates for the first time on Wednesday，but the Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed he would remain in New Jersey to optimize the final phase of his recovery.
‘I Was Thinking About Signing Messi’
The president’s remarks about Neymar came just two days after he made headlines with an even more provocative joke. Speaking to reporters in Geneva following the G7 summit in Évian, France, Lula was asked about Brazil’s performance and responded with a laugh: “I was thinking about signing Messi to play for Brazil.”
The comment was a clear reference to Lionel Messi’s sensational form at the tournament. Just a day earlier, the Argentine captain had scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 demolition of Algeria, equaling Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals. The contrast between Brazil’s sluggish opener and their historic rivals’ flying start was not lost on the president.
Lula was keen to downplay concerns, however. He noted that Morocco was “the best team” Brazil would face in the group and insisted the draw was “not a big deal”. He also reminded fans of Brazil’s history of overcoming slow starts, adding: “They say that whenever Brazil are heavily doubted, they go on to win the World Cup… let’s see.”
A Light-Hearted President, a Tense Tournament
Lula, a lifelong football enthusiast, has not been shy about weighing in on the national team’s fortunes. Before the Morocco match, he posted a video on social media urging Ancelotti to instruct his players to play with “soul,” “grit,” and the people in mind.
His jokes about Neymar carry an added layer of political context: the star forward supported Jair Bolsonaro — Lula’s far-right opponent — during the 2022 presidential campaign. Bolsonaro is currently imprisoned for his role in the January 8, 2023 insurrection attempt in Brasília.
Brazil will conclude their group-stage campaign against Scotland in Miami on June 24. Whether Neymar will be fit to feature by then remains an open question — and whether Lula will have more jokes ready, a certainty.
