Neymar’s return to boyhood club Santos has been confirmed, with the Brazilian side sharing an emotional video – dedicated to Pele – to announce his signing.
The forward, who was earning £130million-a-year with Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, travelled to his homeland on Friday to finalise the agreement and sensational return.
It was at Santos where Neymar first captivated footballing audiences at the start of his career, bursting onto the scene as the next superstar to arise from Brazilian shores.
After helping guide the club to a Copa Libertadores title in 2011, he departed Santos in 2013 to pursue a career at Barcelona and over the summer spoke of his desire to return one day.
That day has arrived at long last after Al-Hilal terminated his, with the 32-year-old having played just seven games for the club since joining in August 2023 due to an ACL injury, scoring one goal.
The 32-year-old has agreed to a six-month contract with Santos, aiming to rejuvenate his career and secure a spot in Brazil’s squad for the 2026 World Cup, and Santos took to social media to confirm the news with a 79-second video.
Neymar’s return to Santos has been confirmed in an emotional video shared to social media
The video was dedicated to Pele (left) – the Brazilian great and Neymar formed a strong relationship
Neymar’s £130million-a-year with Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia was terminated after he played just seven games
In the video, Neymar could be heard speaking in Portuguese, with English subtitles added at the bottom of the video.
He began, as a throne with Pele’s name on and an eternal symbol was shown: ‘Hey, King! I miss you so much!
‘I was a little boy when I arrived here full of dreams. Vila Belmiro took me in, and that’s where I grew up and I was happy. Santos revealed me to the world, but my heart never stopped being white and black.
‘I remember everything I experienced with you all. Every moment. A vivid, happy and eternal memory. A memory I don’t just want to remember, I want to live it again. And I want to live with you again, as it always was.
‘King Pele, your wish is my command. The thrown and the crown, they are still yours. Because you are eternal. But the number 10…
‘It will be an honour to wear the sacred jersey that represents so much for Santos and the world.
‘I promise to do everything I can to keep honouring your legacy, King. “I’m going but I’ll be back”, remember? Well… the prince is back.
As the video played, older clips of Neymar playing for Santos were shown in the background, with the end of the video featuring writing reading: ‘I’ll be back.’ He and Pele formed a close relationship, with the latter passing away in 2022.
The video featured clips of a young Neymar playing for Santos and a throne for Pele
Fans took to the streets to celebrate Neymar’s return on the day it was finally confirmed
A mural of the forward was painted, showing his face with a crown on his head ahead of move
Neymar took to social media to share him and his entourage on his private jet bound for Brazil
He posted a number of Instagram stories, captioning one: ‘After 12 years we are back brother.’
Neymar began his professional career with Santos in 2009 and was instrumental in helping them to a Copa Libertadores triumph in 2011, crucially scoring in the second leg of the final
Neymar shared images of him and his entourage on his private jet bound for Brazil as confirmation of his return neared. Fans gathered in the street to celebrate, with a mural of the forward wearing a crown also painted.
He posted a number of Instagram stories documenting his journey, captioning one: ‘After 12 years we are back brother.’
Santos are one of Brazil’s grandest clubs having won eight national titles, 22 regional leagues in Sao Paulo, and three Copa Libertadores crowns – the South American equivalent of the Champions League.
Brazilian greats such as Pele, Carlos Alberto, Coutinho, Zito and many more have graced the Vila Belmiro down the years, and in their 1960s heyday they regularly trounced elite European opposition on global tours.
They have fallen on harder times in recent years, suffering relegation to the second tier in 2023, but bounced back last year as Serie B champions at the first time of asking.
Neymar has similarly endured hardship of late, with his PSG departure in the summer of 2023 proving ill-fated.
He may be Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer, but the past few years of his career have been littered with varying degrees of injury and not the same success he enjoyed during his Barcelona prime.
Fitness woes were no more prevalent than during his disastrous stint in Saudi Arabia, with an ACL injury early into his £77.6 million move to Al-Hilal limiting the Brazilian legend to only managed 428 minutes of action across 18 months.
Neymar managed just 428 minutes of action at Al-Hilal in seven matches, scoring only once
After he and the Saudi giants opted to part ways, Neymar has agreed to take a staggering pay cut tp return to his homeland and will now earn a base salary £135,507 (R$1 million) per month, complemented by the retention of up to 90 per cent of his image rights.
The structure for this deal mirrors the successful arrangement from his previous tenure at Santos between 2010 and 2013.
At that time, Neymar earned a base salary of £40,683 (R$300,000) but took home around £429,147 (R$3.3m) monthly, thanks to retaining 90 per cent of his image rights.
The club believes that, with advancements in the digital landscape, Neymar’s earnings could now reach up to £819,433 (R$6 million) per month.
His move to Santos is all but a done deal, with the Brazilian giants said to have been
