Between Neymar and Santos, the beautiful story will continue. The Brazilian star has reached an agreement to renew his contract with his training club until the end of 2026, a source close to the negotiations told AFP on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old striker had a difficult start to the season with the São Paulo State team, which he joined at the start of the year, due to repeated injuries. But he played a key role in keeping them in the first division.
This Wednesday, Santos FC published on its social networks an enigmatic video showing an aerial view of the Vila Belmiro stadium with the date December 31, 2026, accompanied by the text: “The time is approaching”, but without mentioning Neymar, whose initial contract expires on December 31 at midnight.
Engaged in a real fight against his body during the last matches of the season, the former Paris Saint-Germain player continued to play despite a lesion in the medial meniscus of his left knee, nevertheless showing himself to be efficient, like his hat-trick scored against Juventude, to keep Santos in the elite of Brazilian football.
2026 World Cup objective
The man with 11 goals and 4 assists in 28 games last year agreed to undergo surgery in December, hoping to be quickly recovered to be called up to Brazil’s list for the 2026 World Cup.
Top scorer in the history of the Seleção (79 goals, 2 more than Pelé), Neymar has not played for the national team for more than two years. His last meeting in the Brazil jersey dates back to October 17, 2023, when he suffered a serious knee injury against Uruguay.
The former FC Barcelona and PSG player has not yet been called up by Brazil’s new coach, Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who took the reins of the five-time world champion team in June.
“Since we are talking about Neymar, we have to talk about other footballers. We have to think about Brazil, which can be with or without Neymar,” declared the Mister during his last press conference, at the beginning of December, after the draw for the 2026 World Cup.
