Global impact, president of a second division team talked about Neymar's signing

The 2023/24 season was a nightmare for Neymar Junior. Just days before the start of Ligue 1, the Paris Saint-Germain chiefs informed him that he would not be part of Luis Enrique's squad and that he would have to look for a new club. After Barcelona's rejection, he surprised everyone by following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema and joining Saudi Arabia's Pro League.

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But things did not go well for him at Al-Hilal. Despite his impressive salary of over $100 million per season, he was barely able to play for his new club. He was sidelined for the first few weeks with a muscle problem and then was called up to the Brazil national team for the international break in September. On his return to Saudi Arabia he played five games (one goal and three assists), before returning to South America for the October international break. The worst happened there: in a match against Uruguay in Montevideo he suffered a serious knee injury and had to undergo surgery.

Ney is now facing a recovery process that will last at least until the middle of the year. That means he will not play for Al-Hilal again this season, while he will miss the Copa America 2024 with the Brazilian national team. But while all this is going on, he is in the news this week for rumors of his possible arrival at a second division club: Santos of Brazil.

That is the club where the forward started his professional career, with 136 goals in 226 games between 2009 and 2013. Now they have suffered relegation for the first time in their history and are hopeful that Neymar's return will help them regain their place in the Brazilian soccer elite. A few days ago, the player was watching the Santos vs Corinthians match and the club's president, Marcelo Teixeira, revealed that he spoke with him: "It was a quick conversation, but it is always the quickest ones that have a good effect". Asked if there is a chance of signing Ney to a contract now, the president replied: "No, no, it's early. He still has to recover better. To play here he has to recover well."

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The coach wants him too

Then Fabio Carille, Santos manager, spoke on the subject and said: "It would be great to have Neymar. We know it's difficult, he's a different player. You see Endrick leaving at 16, 17 years old. Really, he can't consolidate himself in Brazilian soccer. It's a distant dream, but let's dream."