Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. drew the ire of fans after missing a key matchup for his Santos FC club to play in a poker tournament in São Paulo.
Santos was set for a big game in Venezuela against Universidad Central on Tuesday as part of the Copa Sudamericana. However, the 34-year-old attacking midfielder was locked in competition in the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP).
According to Fox Sports, Neymar’s club gave him the day off to . But instead of heading with them to the pitch, he stayed in Brazil and took a shot at a BSOP title. Neymar posted footage of himself training at the club’s practice facility.
That didn’t stop the fans from voicing their disapproval.
Santos still came out on top 4-1, but Neymar only further agitated the fanbase further with a social media post after the match.
“Life is a joke,” he wrote on social media. “Don’t take life so seriously.”
Commitment Questioned Before
Criticism came after the soccer star shared images of playing in the BSOP while the Santos match in Venezuela was underway. He is expected to play in the tournament, but fans questioned his commitment with the club, which plays in Brazil’s top-flight Série A league. His contract ends in December.
This isn’t the first time the PokerStars ambassador’s passion for poker has been questioned. In 2024, French soccer legend Emmanuel Petit said that poker has affected the Brazilian player’s efforts on the pitch.
“I’m a huge fan of Neymar as a player when he used to love football,” Petit told Essentially Sports. “This guy, even while he was playing for Paris Saint-Germain the last two years, his mind was not a hundred percent committed to football. He was more committed to poker, you know. Poker tournament than football games.”
Earlier this year, Neymar went on a 24-hour online poker binge on his day off. After being part of the Brazilian squad in the FIFA World Cup this year, he played in the World Series of Poker $10,000 main event just days after his home country was eliminated by Norway.
Neymar’s Dabbles In Cash Games Too
The soccer star began playing poker in 2014 and has embraced the game. He has more than $116,000 in live tournament winnings, but plays high-stakes cash games as well. A report in 2025 even alleged that pro boxer Chris Eubank Jr. owed him $5 million from outstanding poker debt.
In December, Neymar took fourth in a BSOP event for $ 63,400. In 2021, he signed on as an ambassador with PokerStars, a move to not only reach soccer fans but also to appeal to a growing Brazilian poker scene. The deal was his second partnership with the brand.
“When I’m not playing football, I love playing cards,” Neymar said in announcing the deal.
On the pitch, Neymar has played for some of the world’s most successful clubs, including FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. He’s scored more than 200 goals and appeared on the Brazilian World Cup team in 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026. The forward also captained the 2016 team that won the Olympics.
