Neymar shed tears of joy at his return to his hometown Brazilian team.

Neymar's return ceremony for Santos was held at the Vila Belmiro Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Neymar returned to Santos after ending his contract with Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal and signing a short-term six-month contract with Santos. It was his first return in 12 years since he moved to Europe in 2013, when he transferred to FC Barcelona.

Neymar ended his European career by transferring to Saudi Arabia's prestigious Al Hilal in 2023. Al Hilal paid a transfer fee of $97.5 million (approximately 140 billion won) to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Neymar seemed to be spending the last years of his career in Saudi Arabia, receiving a huge salary.

However, Neymar faced difficulties as soon as he arrived in Saudi Arabia. After his debut for Al Hilal, he suffered an injury where his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee ruptured while playing in an A match, and was out for a long time. In October of last year, he suffered a hamstring injury right after returning and was once again ruled out of action. Neymar only played seven games for Al Hilal.

Al Hilal also ran out of patience. In an interview in early January, coach Jorge Jesus said, “Neymar can no longer play at the level we are used to,” and announced that he would not be playing. Neymar was excluded from the Saudi Pro League player registration and was unable to play. The only game he could play in was the Asian Champions League (ACL), but it is not held often enough to maintain his skills.

Neymar, who was tired of living abroad and frequent injuries, also wanted to return home, even if it meant taking a significant salary cut. It is known that Neymar will receive only 380 million euros, which is only 1% of the weekly wage he received at Al Hilal.

Neymar shed tears of joy at his return ceremony that day, saying, “It feels like going back in time,” and “Only Santos gives me the love I need.”

Regarding his poor performance at Al Hilal, he said, “I started feeling sad during training. This is not about football, it’s about the heart.”

Neymar’s goal is to participate in the FIFA World Cup in North and Central America next summer. Santos is aiming to help Neymar recover as much as possible for the next six months.