In a 3-1 victory over Água Santa of Sao Paulo on Sunday, Neymar scored his first goal for Santos since coming back to Brazil by converting a penalty.

The 33-year-old great will feel some comfort following a difficult restart when he finds the net from the spot in the 14th minute of the Sao Paulo state championship match.

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Santos’ goals were completed in the 26th minute by Thaciano and in the 70th minute by Guilherme, who was assisted by Neymar.

Neymar has yet to play the full ninety minutes in a Santos game. Despite playing poorly in the club’s first three games, he made some progress on Sunday as he continues to heal from a knee injury.

After a whole year away from soccer, Neymar made his formal comeback in October.

Last month, he affirmed that he and the Saudi club Al-Hilal had mutually agreed to end his contract. He only appeared in seven games and scored one goal during his injury-plagued tenure at Al-Hilal.

Neymar has agreed to a six-month contract with Santos, with the possibility of an extension.

He scored 138 goals in 225 official games during his first stint as a professional at Santos, which lasted from 2009 to 2013. In 2017, the Brazilian moved from Barcelona to PSG for 222 million euros (then $262 million), making him the most expensive player in soccer history. In 2023, he paid 90 million euros ($94 million) to Al-Hilal.