Neymar made his grand return to his boyhood club Santos on Wednesday playing his first game in three months after injuries ended his time with Al Hilal. Neymar came on in the second half for Santos and was immediately greeted by taking a ball to the nether regions.
Wednesday’s Paulistão match was also Neymar’s 33rd birthday. He received a standing ovation from the home fans in the Vila Belmiro when he was brought into the game.
Neymar was then rocked in the peanuts just seconds later.
Neymar hit in balls 1 minute into Santos return
Dia 585 - O primeiro toque da reestreia de Neymar sendo uma bolada no sacopic.twitter.com/PGWn57LYa0
— Todo dia um momento bizarro do futebol (@bizarrofut) February 6, 2025
Santos led 1-0 when Neymar came on but ended up drawing 1-1. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germian had several flashes of his youthful self. Neymar was seen taking defenders on 1-v1 as well as ripping a shot on target from outside the box that forced a diving save.
Neymar was balling out on his second Santos debut pic.twitter.com/OdRImQEi4B
— GOAL (@goal) February 6, 2025
Neymar Jr would’ve cooked in MLS .. can’t no one tell me otherwise.
Would’ve been a great ‘rivalry’ with Messi.— herculez gomez (@herculezg) February 6, 2025
While the result didn’t go Santos’ way, Neymar was still grateful to return to the club he played for from 2009 until 2013.
"I can't find the words to express the feeling when you love something. I love Santos very much and I can't find the words to describe the feeling I felt when I stepped out onto the pitch today," Neymar said after the match.
Santos and Neymar will be back in action on Sunday.
