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Superstar Neymar visits FC Santos

Photo: Anderson Lira / Fotoarena / IMAGO

An explosive transfer rumor is enthralling football fans in Brazil: Superstar Neymar is reportedly heading back home. This is reported by the online portal “UOL”. The reason for this assumption is said to be Neymar's appearance in the FC Santos dressing room: The 32-year-old attended the final first leg of the Campeonato Paulista, the Sao Paulo state championship, on Sunday as a guest of honor.

Santos won the match against Palmeiras 1-0. Before the game, he carried the Paulista trophy through the stadium, while the fans shouted to him: “Come home, Neymar!” According to UOL, a Santos official is said to have already confirmed that he was actually planning to do this in 2025: They chatted before the game Neymar stated that he did not want to extend his contract with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal and would return to FC Santos for a free transfer.

In the summer, Neymar moved from the prestigious French club Paris Saint-Germain to Saudi Arabia and was supposed to become the league's figurehead alongside Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo. So far, however, Neymar's involvement with Al-Hilal has not been a good one: the offensive player only played three league games, failed to score a goal and has been out since then due to a torn cruciate ligament.

Neymar became a professional at Pele's club Santos in 2009. Four years later he moved to FC Barcelona for a transfer fee of 88 million euros. In 2017, Neymar moved on to PSG; the transfer fee of 222 million euros makes the move the most expensive transfer in football history to date.

Santos decision maker and father fuel rumors

Meanwhile, some important officials at FC Santos are fueling hopes that Neymar will return. Not only is club president Marcelo Teixeira considered a close confidant of the superstar, marketing boss Armênio Neto is also said to have a good relationship with Neymar. Neto already worked in this role at the club between 2010 and 2013 and is considered a factor in why Santos was able to keep its top player in Brazil for so long. At the beginning of March, Neto commented on a tweet celebrating Neymar's first game for Santos with the sentence: "Stories often repeat themselves."

The striker's father also promised that Neymar Júnior would find his way back to his roots. "The whole world knows how much love we have for Santos, where we started, where my son started his career," he said in a recent radio interview. But Neymar senior also qualified: “I think we have to keep calm. He still has some time to spend abroad. Especially in Arabia." An exact year cannot be confirmed: "His return will take place at some point, but in peace and quiet, with his feet on the ground."

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