It is official. Neymar finished the circuit, moving to his first club: Santos Du Brazil Séririe A.
From one angle, he’s back an evolved athlete. Since shooting to fame as a teenager at Santos, where he netted 136 goals in 225 games, he’s reached much loftier heights, starring and scoring prolifically in the glamorous forward lines at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain and winning some of the biggest prizes.
Yet the failure of his gaudy move to the Saudi Pro League and Al-Hilal—where he made only seven appearances and scored just once, spending most of his stay on the sidelines due to injury—has left 32-year-old Neymar’s career at a nadir. The Saudi powerhouse’s call to discontinue his contract tells its own story, with unavailability and a lack of sharpness the stumbling blocks.
And yet, Neymar will not lower the pace at least saints. Gloria in the World Cup with Seleção. The tournament arrives at the Americas in 2026.
Neymar faces arguably the biggest weeks and months of his soccer life. There’s an urgency to shake off his injuries, build fitness, and stay in excellent shape in the run-up to next summer. From a less practical standpoint, there’s a curiosity to see if Neymar can reignite his best form; at his peak with Barcelona, where he won the Champions League in 2015, he was a fast and flamboyant menace to the opposition.
Santos and another festival point arrive ten years ago. However, it may be the best tonic. This is an exciting era for Pelé’s former team after winning promotion from Brazil’s top flight in November and starting their season in March. Neymar will get unconditional love there, and a familiar environment can do wonders.
You just have to see the Netflix Saudi Pro League series: Kickoff to see how the player was in the Middle East, with pain and help from the stands: the ghost of a celebrity that replaced his hands (Spanish) with around € 464. Million (($ 484 million) stranded on another planet. It seemed that Neymar was in decline, and it could well be, the return house deserves to revitalize it, reviving part of the original joy.
There is still space for Neymar in the Brazilian configuration. The compatriots, no more than Raphinha, are closer to the best. Here again, the World Cup qualification turns out to be an event, and the coach of Dorival Júnior wishes to welcome the attacker in the fold, if he is in intelligent conditions. Neymar has boasting and invention of games, qualities that do not fade quickly.
The World Cup will come with more groups and lights, so enthusiasts can expect an even greater exhibition once the 2025/26 national campaigns end. And the glory of Brazil and Neymar is far, its history to date, a theatrical cash magnet without the final crown, is the moment of a final touch if everything goes well.
A community. Many voices. Create a lazy account to pry your thoughts.
Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.
In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site’s Terms of Service. We’ve summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.
Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:
The user accounts will block if we realize or that users are compromised:
So how can you be a difficult user?
Thanks for reading our network directives. Read the complete list of publication regulations discovered the situations of use of our site.