NEYMAR says Santos are helping him to “rediscover joy” after returning to his boyhood club on a short-term contract.
The 33-year-old ended a 16-month goal drought when coolly converting from the penalty spot in Santos’ 3-1 win against Agua Santa on Sunday.
“I’m happy to be playing again. I feel I’m improving,” said Neymar, who completed a return to Santos after Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal agreed to terminate his contract by mutual consent following an injury-hit spell with the club.
He added: “Obviously I’m not going to be 100% physically, it’s only my fourth game but I’m getting better and better.
“I was anxious to score and wanted to dedicate this to the fans and my family.”
Al-Hilal paid £77.6m to sign Neymar from Paris St-Germain in August 2023 but a knee injury restricted him to just seven appearances.
Neymar made his senior debut for Santos aged 17 in 2009, scoring 136 goals and laying on 64 assists in 225 matches during his initial spell with the club.
The Brazil forward further established himself as one of the world’s best footballers after joining Barcelona for £48.6m in 2013.
He won eight trophies during his time at the Nou Camp, including the Champions League and two La Liga titles before joining Paris St-Germain for a world-record fee of £200m in 2017.
He picked up a further 13 trophies in Paris but fell out of favour with manager Luis Enrique and sought a new challenge in Saudi Arabia.
Shortly after the switch, Neymar overtook Pele to become Brazil’s all-time leading male goalscorer with 78 goals, but has not played for his country since his initial knee injury in October 2023.
Neymar said he had been “wishing for this moment to come true for a long time” when announcing his return to Santos on deal which runs until 30 June.
“We’re helping each other, Santos are helping me, they’ve opened doors for me to rediscover soccer, to rediscover joy,” he said.
“I didn’t want to sign a long contract because I didn’t know how I was going to come back. I didn’t know how I was going to feel during these months. Let’s enjoy these moments, it’s the start of a great era for Santos.”