Despite having to settle for a draw in his first game for Santos in twelve years, Neymar was nonetheless thrilled to be playing for his boyhood team again.

Following the mutual termination of his £130 million-per-year deal with Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal, the 33-year-old made an emotional homecoming to the Brazilian powerhouses last week.

Neymar, the all-time top scorer for Brazil, started playing for Santos in 2009 and won the Copa Libertadores in 2011 after scoring in the championship game. He made 225 appearances in all competitions during his four-year tenure, tallying an incredible 136 goals and 64 assists.

After battling ailments in Saudi Arabia, Neymar entered the game in the second half of Santos’ 1-1 tie with Botafogo, but the attacker appeared rusty.

Shortly after being introduced, he even had the misfortune of taking the ball directly into his crotch. However, that didn’t depress him in the least.

“I adore Santos,” Neymar declared. “There are no words to express how I felt when I took the field once more tonight.”

“I need games and minutes.” I’m not completely recovered. Tonight, I ran and dribbled more than I anticipated. I anticipate feeling better after four or five games.

Neymar, who played for Barcelona before making a world-record move to PSG in 2017, rose to prominence in the sport during his time away from Santos.

Neymar only stayed with Al-Hilal for eighteen months after leaving Paris. Only two months after joining, he had a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, and his injury problems limited him to just seven games and one goal.

For the first time in the club’s 111-year existence, he rejoins the Santos team that was demoted to the second division in 2023. A year later, the team was guaranteed a spot back in the top division.

For his second stay with the team, Neymar has inherited Pele’s recognizable No. 10 shirt.

In front of some 20,000 fans crammed into Vila Belmiro Stadium for an emotional unveiling event, he declared: “I am very happy.” Here, we experienced wonderful times. There’s still a lot of potential.

Then, when the crowd yelled for him to dribble once again, he replied, “I will not lack boldness [to dribble].”

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Neymar was so moved by the moment that he couldn’t contain his tears after kissing the emblem and then blowing kisses.

He had welcomed club executives and his future teammates to the training ground before to the event. Several well-known people reportedly broke down in tears.