Neymar Plays With Santos For The First Time In 12 Years

Neymar made his debut with Santos when he drew 1-1 against Botafogo at Campeonato Paulista (Instagram/@santosfc).

JAKARTA - After almost 12 years of playing for two top teams in Europe and briefly stopping in Saudi Arabia, Neymar returned to playing professional football in his home country, Brazil.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star came on as a substitute at the start of the second half for his boyhood club, Santos, in the Campeonato Paulista match against Botafogo SP on Thursday, February 6, 2025 WIB, at Estadio Vila Belmiro.

Santos took the lead with a score of 1-0 when Neymar entered the field, but conceded a goal in the second half. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

"I love Santos. I have no words to describe what I felt tonight when I stepped again on this pitch," Neymar said after the game.

The Brazilian star, who was named the best player in the match, admitted he was not yet in top physical condition.

However, he said it took a positive feeling from his first game in more than three months.

"I need minutes to play and play. I'm not 100 percent yet. I didn't expect to be able to run and dribble as much as tonight."

"I will feel better in four or five games," said Neymar.

Neymar, 33, who turned on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, confirmed his re-shift to Santos on January 31, 2205, signed a six-month contract which the club said was expected to be extended to at least 2026 World Cup.

He won six titles during his playing at Santos, which is located in the beach town outside Sao Paulo, including the Copa Libertadores trophy in 2011.

Neymar, once credited as one of the world's best players, left Santos to join Barcelona in 2013 and later became the most expensive transfer in history when he moved to PSG for 222 million euros (at that time 262 million US dollars) in 2017.

He signed a contract with Al-Hilal in the Saudi Arabian Pro League in the summer of 2023, but picked up an ACL injury months after his move while playing for Brazil in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Despite Neymar's injury, Al-Hilal still managed to win the league last season. The Brazilian's contract will expire after the 2025 Club World Cup, which will be played between June 15 and July 13, 2025 in the United States.

After Al Hilal refused to include him in the team squad list for the second half of the season and Manager Jorge Jesus said there was no longer any place for him on the team, reports of his return to Santos began to strengthen.

Neymar's salary with Al Hilal is reportedly one of the largest in the world of football. He was willing to be paid much lower than he received in Saudi Arabia when he returned to Santos.