Marcelo Teixeira, the president of Brazilian football club Santos, has confirmed his desire to sign Neymar da Silva, the striker from Saudi club Al-Hilal, to wear the black-and-white jersey once again. Neymar (32 years old) is contracted with Al-Hilal for two seasons until 2025, with an option to extend for another year, but it seems that the two parties are headed for a separation after the contract ends, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
The Brazilian star is expected to fulfill his promise to return to his childhood team before hanging up his boots. Teixeira stated that he has already started negotiations with his fellow Brazilian Neymar, to convince him to return to Santos in the near future, and confirmed that talks are progressing well between them.
Teixeira stated in comments published by the Daily Mail: “The conversation with Neymar was very quick, but it had a good impact.” He added: “In order to come back and play here, he must first recover well from his injury, and he will continue his experience in Saudi Arabia and then return here.”
Previous reports indicated that Santos plans to bring Neymar back to their squad after he recovers from the knee injury that has sidelined him and after his current professional stint in the Saudi league comes to an end. Neymar joined Al-Hilal last summer from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal and has participated in only 5 matches for the Saudi team before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament while with the Brazilian national team.
Neymar began his career at Santos in 2009 when he was just 17 years old, quickly securing his place in the team's lineup before moving to Barcelona in 2013 and then to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for a fee that reached 222 million euros.
