SAO PAULO — Neymar found the net for the first time since his return to Brazil, scoring a penalty during Santos’ 3-1 victory over Água Santa in the São Paulo state championship on Sunday.
Taking a penalty kick in the 14th minute marked a significant moment for the 33-year-old as he navigates through a challenging comeback phase.
Thaciano contributed with a goal in the 26th minute, and Neymar assisted Guilherme for a goal in the 70th minute, completing Santos’ scoring for the match.
Despite not being able to play a full 90 minutes in any of his matches so far, Neymar’s performance showed notable improvement on Sunday as he works to recover from a previous knee injury.
He made his official return to professional soccer in October after being sidelined for a year.
Neymar announced last month that he had mutually agreed to terminate his contract with Saudi club Al-Hilal, where he had a struggle-filled tenure, participating in just seven matches and netting a single goal due to injuries.
He has now signed a six-month deal with Santos, with the possibility of extending it in the future.
During his initial stint with Santos from 2009 to 2013, Neymar scored an impressive 138 goals in 225 official matches. Notably, he made headlines by becoming the most expensive player in soccer history when he transferred from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million (approximately $262 million) in 2017. In 2023, he joined Al-Hilal for a reported €90 million (around $94 million).
