Neymar says he intends to spend an entire year doing “absolutely nothing” when he retires from professional football, despite his enthusiasm for playing the game and Santos’ current form.
The Brazilian, who began his professional career at the age of 17 and is now 34, has already started considering life after football. He said he wanted to take an extended break after ending his career rather than immediately moving into another role in the sport.
Neymar’s comments were published by Brazilian outlet Ge Globo following an interview with Varanda Gourmet.
“Obviously, when I retire, I will spend an entire year without doing anything at all,” Neymar said.
He added that he would decide what to do on a day-by-day basis.
“I will live that way: if I feel like playing football today, I will play. But if I do not feel like doing anything at all today, then I will do nothing,” he said.
The Santos player also revealed that, although he remains passionate about playing football, he has little interest in watching matches on television.
“No, I do not like it. I like basketball, but I only watch it from time to time. I get angry when I watch football,” Neymar said.
He acknowledged that people have often found his attitude difficult to believe because of his love for the sport.
“When I talk about this in interviews or with my friends, nobody believed me,” he said. “I love football, but I love playing it. Sitting on the sofa and turning on the television to watch a match is something I cannot do.”
Neymar recalled how the constant presence of football on television became particularly frustrating when young players were staying with him in Paris and Barcelona.
“When the young players were living with me in Paris and Barcelona, the television showed nothing but football matches on Saturdays and Sundays,” he said.
“I used to get extremely angry, and I would not even stay in the living room.”
Neymar has continued to express his enthusiasm for Santos while also preparing for the eventual end of a career that began professionally at 17. However, his comments suggest that his first priority after retirement would be time away from football rather than watching the game or immediately returning to it in another capacity.
