In 2025, Globoesporte reports that Neymar may return to Santos. The Brazilian has already asked the club to hold the #11 jersey for when he returns. The club is now coordinating closely with Neymar’s dad in an effort to finalize the agreement.

For the first time in 111 years, Santos were relegated from Brazil’s top division last week. They will now play in Serie B. In the aftermath of the club’s decline, a contrite Neymar said, “Santos always Santos,” on Instagram.

In 2025, will Neymar return to Santos victorious?

Reintroducing Santos to the first division couldn’t be done by anybody else. After starting his professional career in 2009 with Santos, the Brazilian forward spent four years with the club before joining Barcelona, a powerhouse in Catalonia. While Neymar was a second-year player for Barcelona, he and his teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez—nicknamed “MSN”—won the treble.

Moving to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million in the summer of 2017, Neymar shattered the record for biggest transfer. He left Paris in 2023 to join Al Hilal of the Saudi Pro League for $98 million. While he heals from severe ACL surgery, Neymar’s debut season was cut short by recent international injuries.

Still, the Brazilian hopes to get back to his origins at Santos wearing the #11 jersey as his two-season stint in the Middle East comes to a close. Earlier this month, Santos discarded their renowned number ten in favor of Pele.

His call came in yesterday. “Look, you’ve already retired at 10 until you return to the first division, so I’ll retire at 11 until I return,” he stated to the president. With regard to Neymar’s possible return to the club, club president Marcelo Teixeira expressed his happiness and optimism in an interview with TV Santa Cecília.

Next, Teixeira said, “I’m going to assign it to our group so that we may study while maintaining 11 as well… With any luck, Neymar will be back at some point. Let’s put the 10 aside for a second. And we’ll keep waiting till our star comes back at eleven.

First things first, Neymar is swamped with work. Neymar has to finish up his deal with Al Nassr before the Copa America returns in the summer of 2019. That is, unless the Santistas figure out how to get the club back to its South American glory days. That is the only way for Neymar to lead them to victory in Brazil’s Serie A.