"We await news" - Santos president opens the door to Neymar's return

The rumoured move to bring Brazilian striker Neymar back to Santos, the club that brought him to fame when he was a youngster, is still being negotiated, according to Marcelo Teixeira, the Paulista club's president, at a press conference on Sunday. Teixeira said the talks are "advancing" and that he will wait until the end of this year's second division season, next Sunday, to think about the next one "calmly".

"We are going to wait for the end of the championship and then, yes, calmly, plan for 2025" he said. Santos won the Brazilian second division title a year after their relegation, the first in their history, and a week after securing a return to the top flight. "I have no news about Neymar. We are waiting for news from the club and the player. Whatever the outcome, Santos will not be able to interfere. If they could, they would intervene to solve it, but we are monitoring it so that, when it is decided, we can make a statement," he added.

Neymar, currently with Al Hilal, left Santos in 2013 to join Barcelona and then moved to PSG in 2017 after paying a €222 million contract termination clause with Barca (the most expensive transfer in football history).

In August 2023, the Brazilian star signed for Al Hilal but, two months later, suffered a left knee injury that kept him sidelined for a year. On his return to football in early November, Neymar suffered left thigh discomfort in an Asian Champions League match and is expected to return to action by the end of the month.

 

November 17, 2024