Report: Neymar set to return to boyhood club Santos

It'll be a homecoming like no other for one of soccer's most beloved superstars. Brazilian forward Neymar is set to return to boyhood club Santos, with soccer insider Fabrizio Romano reporting that the deal is imminent and a verbal agreement has been reached. According to Romano, the formal steps will follow next week as his current club, the Saudi Pro League's Al-Hilal, will finalize the deal to send him home.

Neymar has already approved the move. Neymar, 32, has endured a turbulent stay in Saudi Arabia. After signing a two-year contract for a €90 million ($94.



3 million) transfer fee and suiting up for five games for Al-Hilal, he suffered a torn ACL while on international duty with Brazil in October 2023. He returned to the club in October 2024, but soon suffered a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for the rest of the year. He has not since made another appearance for the club.

Al-Hilal head coach Jorge Jesus told reporters earlier this month that Neymar can "no longer play at the level we are used to." Neymar now looks set to head back to Santos, the team he played his youth soccer with from 2003-2009 before suiting up for the senior team from 2009-2013. He then transferred to his Barcelona, where in four years he scored 68 goals in 123 La Liga appearances.

Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, winning five Ligue 1 titles and scoring 82 goals in 112 appearances. Prior to heading overseas, Neymar scored 107 goals in 177 appearances for Santos. Santos is currently top of the table in the Brazilian Serie B, the country's second division of professional soccer.

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