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Adriana Garcia
Jun 24, 2025, 04:45 PM ET
Brazilian guardant Neymar has signed a declaration hold with Santos done the extremity of 2025, the nine announced Tuesday.
The woody includes an enactment to widen his declaration done the 2026 World Cup adjacent summer, sources told ESPN Brasil.
His erstwhile declaration astatine Santos was owed to expire connected June 30.
Neymar, 33, rejoined his boyhood nine successful January aft terminating his declaration with Saudi Arabian nine Al Hilal by communal consent.
"I made a determination and I listened to my heart," Neymar said successful Santos' statement. "Santos is not conscionable my team, it's my home, my roots, my history, and my life.
"Here, I was a lad who became a man, and I americium genuinely loved. Here I tin beryllium myself, genuinely happy. And this is wherever I privation to fulfill the dreams that are inactive missing successful my career. And thing volition halt me.
"I go, I travel backmost and I stay. Where it each began, wherever it's ne'er going to end."
The caller woody includes an further declaration betwixt Santos and NR Sports for the usage of Neymar's image, sources told ESPN Brasil.
In the agreement, Santos agreed to wage a minimum of $15 cardinal for each the caller contracts from sponsors and net successful investments generated by Neymar's beingness with the club, sources added.
Earlier this month, Neymar turned down an connection to play connected indebtedness astatine Brazilian nine Fluminense successful the Club World Cup, with the erstwhile Barcelona prima focused connected regaining his afloat fitness.
Neymar spent overmuch of his clip successful Saudi Arabia connected the sidelines owed to an ACL wounded helium sustained portion connected planetary work with Brazil successful October 2023.
Recurring muscular injuries person constricted Neymar to 3 goals and 3 assists successful 15 games for Santos this twelvemonth and prevented him from making his long-awaited instrumentality to the nationalist team.
But the signing has paid disconnected successful different ways for Santos. The club's president Marcelo Teixeira said that Neymar's instrumentality to Vila Belmiro has led to record-breaking societal media maturation and important commercialized gains for the club.
"It is simply a historical and singular time for Brazilian football, a acquisition for the Santos FC fans," Teixeira said arsenic portion of Tuesday's announcement. "Our idol, our boy, the prince with our fig 10 shirt, remains.
"It is simply a precise important infinitesimal successful this rebuilding process, and we needed Neymar, some connected and disconnected the field. The operation 'I go, I travel backmost and I stay' is emblematic and cardinal to the repositioning of Santos FC astatine its rightful level."
Despite not being astatine the apical of his game, Neymar's begetter and agent, Neymar Sr., precocious said that his lad has an "interested market" that included European clubs that volition vie successful the Champions League adjacent season.
"We person started a precise bully concern and anticipation to proceed for a agelong time," Neymar's begetter said successful Santos' statement.
Neymar, who is Brazil's all-time starring scorer with 79 goals, is hopeful of playing successful a 4th World Cup.
Brazil's Serie A was paused connected June 12 but volition resume aft the FIFA Club World Cup.
Santos, who returned to the apical formation this year, are 15th successful the standings with 3 wins successful 12 games.
