Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil@Mauro Pimentel / AFP – Getty Images
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has taken a playful dig at Neymar’s injury-plagued start to the 2026 World Cup, jesting that the attacker is the first footballer to “work from home”. The Santos forward has been relegated to a spectator role during the initial phases of the North American tournament as he battles a stubborn calf issue.
A Presidential Dig at ‘Remote Working’
While delivering a speech in Belo Horizonte, the Brazilian head of state shared a humorous back-and-forth with a young supporter concerning the national squad’s prospects. When the youngster praised Neymar as the Seleção’s top talent, Lula swiftly noted the 34-year-old’s absence from the pitch due to his ongoing fitness woes, according to Globo.
Drawing upon a popular internet meme, the president declared to the audience: “I saw something yesterday, that Neymar is the first home office call-up in the world. Home office player. I saw that on the internet yesterday. I think any day now we’re going to have to make a national team with artificial intelligence: 11 Pelés.
The Race to Recover in the US
Although the president made light of the Santos star’s predicament, the Seleção faces a tense period waiting for their legendary forward. Neymar has been putting in gruelling hours to rehabilitate a grade two calf tear that kept him out of Brazil’s first two World Cup clashes.
The veteran attacker was recently observed intensifying his recovery drills on the pitches of New Jersey, training separately from the rest of the squad. In defiance of the “home office” jibes echoing from South America, Brazil’s medical personnel are accelerating his return, desperately hoping he can contribute in the crucial knockout stages as they chase an unprecedented sixth world crown.
A History of Clashing with Brazilian Forwards
This is certainly not the first occasion Lula has ruffled feathers with his observations on the conditioning of Brazil’s elite attackers. During his initial presidential term in 2006, he notoriously questioned the physical state of the iconic Ronaldo Nazário prior to the World Cup in Germany, igniting a highly publicised spat between the politician and ‘O Fenômeno’.Back then, Lula quizzed head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira: “Every now and then, I meet Ronaldo and I know he’s thin. But every now and then we read in the Brazilian press that Ronaldo is fat. After all, is he fat or not fat?”
The legendary striker did not take kindly to the comments, famously hitting back: “Everyone says that he [Lula] drinks a lot. Just as it is a lie that I am fat, it must be a lie that he drinks a lot.”
