Neymar announced Thursday he was returning to Brazilian club Santos, where he started his career, after ending his injury-plagued spell with Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
“I will sign a contract with Santos Futebol Clube,” the 32-year-old Brazilian footballer wrote on social media in a post accompanied by images of his past with the Sao Paulo-based team, where football icon Pele spent most of his career.
“My feelings for the club and fans have never changed.”
Santos’ X account replied to Neymar’s post, saying: “Your home awaits you. Your people await you.”
Neymar will be presented to fans in a ceremony at the club’s Estadio Urbano Caldeira, featuring concerts by several local music stars, on Friday.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward played just seven times for Al Hilal despite a reported salary of around $104 million a year.
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time top scorer, joined Al Hilal in August 2023, following fellow superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to the Gulf.
But two months after his arrival in Riyadh, he ruptured a cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing for Brazil in a 2026 World Cup qualifier, which kept him on the sidelines for a year.
