Neymar returns to Santos

Neymar is returning home. The 32-year-old superstar will join his former team Santos, as club Marcelo Teixeira announced on Instagram. On Tuesday evening, Neymar and his former club Al-Hilal parted company by mutual consent, allowing him to return to South America. The club even used an AI-generated video featuring the late, great Pele as part of its pitch.

Neymar played for Santos from 2009 to 2013, making a name for himself with his dazzling flair, pace and technical ability for the Brazilian giants. He won numerous trophies, none of which were bigger than the triumph over Penarol in the 2011 Copa Libertadores. Neymar finished his first career at Santos with 136 goals in 225 games.

Neymar has played a total of seven games for Al-Hilal since his transfer in 2023 due to injury. A serious knee injury kept him out of action for most of the time and he missed 48 games from October 2023 to September 2024.

Neymar joined Barcelona in 2013 and won every title imaginable alongside Lionel Messi. In 2017, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record fee of 220 million euros. Neymar played 173 games for PSG and scored 118 goals, but towards the end of his time there he was eclipsed by both Messi and Kylian Mbappe. When he moved to Al-Hilal in 2023, he became one of the big names to make the jump to Saudi Arabia, but he only played in five games in his first season.