After nearly 12 years playing for two of the top teams in Europe and a brief stop in Saudi Arabia, Neymar is back playing professional soccer in his native Brazil.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar came on as a substitute at the start of the second half for his boyhood club Santos in its Campeonato Paulista match against Botafogo SP on Wednesday at the Estádio Vila Belmiro.
Saudi Pro League in summer 2023 but suffered an ACL injury several months after the move while playing for Brazil in a World Cup qualifier.
Despite Neymar’s injury, Al-Hilal still managed to win last season’s Saudi league. The Brazilian’s contract was due to expire after this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, which will be played between June 15 and July 13 in the United States.
After Al Hilal declined to include him in the team’s squad list for the second half of the SPL season, and manager Jorge Jesus said there was no longer a place for him with the team, the reports of a return to Santos began to pick up steam ahead of his return.
Neymar’s salary with Al Hilal was reportedly one of the biggest in world soccer.
Source: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/43709987/neymar-takes-field-santos-1st-12-years
.