When Neymar left Brazil aged 21 in 2013, bound for Barcelona, he set off to establish himself as a footballing great, seemingly destined to be remembered as his country’s greatest player since Pele.
Twelve years later, he made his first appearance at Santos, playing for the first team, Neymar, a celebrity with unimaginable wealth but a player whose fragile body has suffered from severe injuries.
Neymar has been one of the best players in the world when he was playing at the top of his game. He has dazzling skill and “understands football as art,” as his former Barcelona coach once said.
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Equally true, he never realized his potential as a player who had a ballon d’Or dreamt but always found himself in the shadow of other players at club level, such as Kylian Mbappe or Lionel Messi.
Having signed a six-month deal, he is expected to make his second debut for Santos on Wednesday, his 33rd birthday, when they play Botafogo-SP in the Sao Paulo state championship.
“He will play on Wednesday”, confirmed Santos coach Pedro Caixinha, who had a short spell as manager of Rangers in Scotland in 2017.
However, Neymar’s presence is already present, leading to Sao Paulo’s 3-1 victory on Saturday, just after the superstar was presented at the club’s Vila Belmiro residence.
After scoring twice and receiving praise from Neymar, forward Guilherme said, “He played a big part in this victory.”
“He passed on so much positive energy. I am grateful. This praise comes from no one, just anyone. He is an idol of mine, of my children, of the nation”.
Neymar is Santos’s greatest player since Pele, and he overtook ‘ O Rei ‘ as Brazil’s record goal-scorer in September 2023.
Diminished by injuries
But by age 33 Pele had won the World Cup three times, while Neymar’s three World Cups have ended in tears.
Each time he has carried a nation’s hopes on his shoulders, but the tournament has exposed his vulnerable physique and brittle emotions.
He was cut down in a quarter-final victory over Colombia in 2014, on his own turf, and stretchered off in agony with a broken vertebra in his back.
He recovered from an injury just in time to return to Russia 2018, but Belgium sent Brazil packing in the quarter-finals.
And in Qatar in 2022 he was hampered by an ankle injury suffered in Brazil’s first game. He came back to score a brilliant goal against Croatia in the quarter-finals, but could not stop his team losing on penalties.
His final chance to win a World Cup will be at the North American tournament next year.
“Now I need to play again”, said Neymar. And only Santos can offer me the love I need to face the challenges of the coming years.
After joining Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023, he recently spent 18 months there, earning a rumored 100 million euros ($103m) per season.
Before suffering a serious knee injury while playing for Brazil, Neymar made five appearances for his new team.
After a year out, he returned last October and made two more appearances, only to suffer a hamstring tear.
Helicopter arrival
Neymar has now made a comeback to Santos, where his previous illustrious era included him as a thrilling young talent, which was capped off with a Copa Libertadores triumph in 2011.
He was a fantastic player for Barcelona, who won the Copa del Rey, La Liga, and the Champions League in 2015.
That now feels like the high point in Neymar’s career. In that year, he placed third behind Messi and Ronaldo in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
His world record transfer to PSG in 2017, for 222 million euros, was supposed to be his chance to escape Messi’s shadow.
Neymar made 118 goals in 173 games for PSG, but he frequently suffered untimely injuries when big games came around.
Mbappe, also signed in 2017, quickly became the biggest star in Paris.
“For me, he was at his best at Santos. At Barcelona too. But at PSG not so much, even though he scored goals”, reflected Muricy Ramalho, Neymar’s coach at Santos.
Neymar made his way back to the beginning of his career on Monday at Santos training by helicopter.
He may still have a lot to offer, but that will all depend on his health.
Source: Channels TV
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