Brazil forward Neymar is reportedly considering retirement at the end of the current season, stating he is “living year to year”.

The 34-year-old, who joined boyhood club Santos last year from Saudi side Al-Hilal, has faced recent injury problems, including a knee issue.

Despite this, he hopes to feature for his country in this summer’s World Cup, though he remains under contract until the end of 2026.

“I don’t know what will happen from now on, I don’t know about next year,” he told Brazilian channel Caze.

“It may be that when December comes, I’ll want to retire. I’m living year to year now.

“We will see what my heart decides. It depends on what my heart says later in the year.

“This year is a very important year, not only for Santos, but also for the Brazilian national team, as it’s a World Cup year, and for me too. I wanted to play this season totally 100 per cent.”

Neymar, who is Brazil’s leading scorer of all time with 79 goals in 128 caps, has played at three World Cups. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star has not featured for the five-times World Cup winners since 2023 due to a succession of injuries.

In December, Neymar underwent successful surgery on his knee by the Brazilian national team’s doctor Rodrigo Lasmar.

“An arthroscopy was performed to treat a medial meniscus injury. The surgery was a success, and the athlete is doing well,” Santos said at the time.

Neymar previously shared the stage with singer Thiaguinho to issue a bold promise to the nation, trying to incentivise Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti to bring him back into the fold.

“We are going to do everything possible, even the impossible, to bring this World Cup back to Brazil,” declared the forward. “In July, you can hold me accountable. Come on, Ancelotti, help us out, okay?”

When once asked about Neymar returning to the national team, Ancelotti said he must be fit if he is to earn a recall to the squad for next summer’s tournament held across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Brazil will face Scotland, 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco and Haiti in Group C.

Angers take on Lille at the Stade Raymond Kopa in a Ligue 1 match this Sunday.

Angers are currently in 11th, while Lille are up in 5th, five points ahead of their opponents this weekend.

So can Lille keep up the pace and continue to push for a potential Champions League spot, or will Angers pick up a valuable home win?

Angers vs Lille Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

• Lille have won their last three matches against Angers, and have only lost once at the Stade Raymond Kopa since 2018.
• Angers fell to defeat at the hands of Lorient last weekend, ending a two-match winning streak that saw them defeat Metz and Toulouse. However, the fact that both of those wins came by a single goal means that Angers have only scored two in their last four games.
• Despite Lille’s high league position, they actually haven’t been on the best form in recent weeks. In fact, their only win in their last ten matches came in the Europa League against Freiburg. They fell to defeat in that competition on Thursday against Crvena Zvedza, and have not won in Ligue 1 since December 14th.
• More worrying for Lille should be the fact that their goals have all but dried up, despite them scoring 35 thus far. Since scoring four in December to beat Auxerre, they have only managed two in their last six league games.
• Given the lack of goals between these sides in recent weeks, it shouldn’t be a surprise that historically, games between them have been low-scoring. In fact, none of their last six meetings have produced more than two goals.

Angers vs Lille Prediction

Given Lille’s miserable run of form, this match could be a difficult one to predict, even if they are the superior side on paper.

One thing is likely for certain and that is a lack of goals, as neither team has been high-scoring in recent weeks and historically, this match has not produced many.

Overall, then, given Angers have the home advantage – and have won their last two at the Stade Raymond Kopa – it’s hard to pick a winner here. The prediction is a draw.

Prediction: Angers 1-1 Lille

Angers vs Lille Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result – Draw.

Tip 2: Game to feature fewer than 2.5 goals – Yes (the last six meetings between these sides have produced fewer than 2.5 goals).

Tip 3: Lille to be winning at half-time – Yes (Lille have been leading at half-time in their last three matches with Angers).