Neymar’s return to boyhood club Santos is CONFIRMED on six-month deal after 12 years away – after Brazilian star’s contract with Saudi side Al-Hilal was terminated

Neymar has sealed a long-awaited return to his boyhood club Santos in Brazil, the club’s president has announced. 

He left the shores of 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 Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal terminated his £130million-per-year contract – after he played just seven games due to an ACL injury. 

‘It is the time (to come back), Neymar. It is time for you to come back to your people. To our home, to the club in our hearts,’ Santos president Marcelo Teixeira said in a video on his social media channels on Tuesday. 

‘Welcome, our boy Ney! A boy of Vila (Belmiro, Santos’ stadium). Come back to be happy again with the white and black shirt. The Santos nation awaits you with open arms.’

Teixeira shared an emotional video of a teenage Neymar enjoying his days at the club as a teenager, with clips of him scoring and celebrating goals. 

Santos are one of Brazil’s grandest clubs having won eight national titles, 22 regonal 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 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. 

ESPN had already reported that Neymar and Santos held talks over penning a six-month contract, with a year-long extension clause, to seal a return to the club where he made his debut aged 17 in 2009.

According to Globo, Neymar was owed just over £52m from his Saudi contract and it’s believed he gave up a large chunk of that money to get out of his deal.

He may be Brazil’s all-time goalscorer, but the past few years of his career has been littered with varying degrees of injury and not the same success he enjoyed during his Barcelona prime.

The move to Santos is all but a done deal, with the Brazilian giants said to ‘have been preparing his homecoming presentation for days now’.

Thanks to an ACL injury early into his £77.6 million move from PSG, the Brazilian legend only managed 428 minutes of action across 18 months. He earned a reported £84.6million in 2024.

Neymar began his professional career with Santos in 2009 and was instrumental in helping them to a Copa Libertadores triumph in 2011, as he scored in the second leg of the final, a 2-1 win over Uruguayan side Penarol.

While he has struggled for consistency in Saudi Arabia, Neymar remains a household name in world football thanks to his exploits alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez from the trio’s time together at Barcelona.

In that time, he was part of sides that won the UEFA Champions League in 2015, as well as two LaLiga titles, and three Copa del Reys.

He later moved to PSG in 2017, where he won five Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de Frances and two Coupe de la Ligues.

He has made 128 appearances for Brazil, and is the Selecao’s record goalscorer with 79 goals.

The forward was also part of the Brazil side that won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, which took place in Rio de Janeiro.

More to follow.