The strange 2023 Peru ritual that marked the start of Neymar’s injury nightmares
In September 2023, a group of Peruvian shamans made headlines when they performed a bizarre ritual to neutralise Neymar ahead of Peru’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil.
Dressed in colourful ponchos, the spiritualists tied up an effigy of the Brazilian star, blew into conch shells, and chanted around a makeshift altar outside Lima’s national stadium.
They claimed to have tied Neymar’s feet to stop him from performing.
“We tied him up so that he is not in good shape and doesn’t run or play well,” said shaman Félix Rondán.
Another healer, Walter Alarcón, stated that their goal was to “cloud Neymar’s mind” and block his path to goals.
At first, it seemed like nothing more than a sideshow.
Neymar even assisted the match-winning goal in Brazil’s 1-0 victory, but what followed has been nothing short of a football tragedy.
Since that ritual, Neymar has missed over 500 days of football due to injuries.
Just weeks after joining Saudi side, Al Hilal, in a blockbuster £86 million move, he tore his ACL while on international duty, forcing the club to deregister him.
A brief return in late 2024 was halted by a hamstring injury.
By January 2025, Al Hilal had seen enough and terminated his contract.
Neymar departed with just one goal in seven games, one of the most disastrous transfers in history.
As a result, the former Barcelona forward returned to his boyhood club, Santos, in Brazil, hoping to revive his legacy. But even there, the nightmare lingered.
Before his much-anticipated return to Brazil’s top flight with Santos, Neymar had shown flashes of his old brilliance in the 2025 Campeonato Paulista playoffs.
In just seven appearances, the 33-year-old forward scored three goals and provided three assists, rekindling hope among fans that he was finally rediscovering his form after two injury-plagued years.
His sharpness on the ball, creativity in the final third, and improved movement suggested that the worst might be behind him.
With each performance, larger crowds gathered, and Santos fans cheered louder.
His impact during the Paulista campaign raised expectations ahead of his Brazilian Serie A debut, with many predicting Neymar would carry his momentum into the league and inspire a Santos resurgence.
But just 34 minutes into his first league appearance, optimism turned into despair. Neymar fell to the ground in pain, clutching his leg, and was forced off in tears, another cruel setback in a comeback story that had looked so promising only weeks earlier.
Whether it’s coincidence, accumulated wear and tear, or something more mystical, Neymar’s post-2023 journey has become a tragic reflection of a star trapped in an endless cycle of hope and heartbreak.
What was meant to be a triumphant homecoming has instead deepened the questions surrounding his future in the game.
For a player once destined to define a generation, the shadow of that shaman ritual, and the unrelenting injuries that followed, continues to haunt the final chapters of his storied, yet painfully unfulfilled career.
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