Neymar leaves Saudi team to return to his first soccer club in Brazil

Once heralded as one of the greatest soccer players in the world, Brazil’s Neymar has left the Saudi Arabian league after a 17-month stint filled with injuries and minimal play.

Three things to know

1. Al-Hilal, the Saudi Arabian club that signed Neymar back in 2023, announced in a statement Monday that it had reached a mutual agreement with him to terminate his contract before its expiration date later this year.

2. Neymar struggled through physical injuries for most of his time in the Middle East, with a previous ACL rupture that kept him sidelined for a year.

3. The 32-year-old player made the move for a reported $100 million yearly salary, despite only playing seven games and scoring one goal during his entire tenure there.

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So what’s next for Neymar?

The club president of Santos, the team where Neymar first made his debut as a professional athlete back in 2009, announced the superstar’s homecoming early Tuesday on social media.

“It is time to come back,” wrote Marcelo Teixeira, confirming what Brazilian soccer fans and media had been suspecting since he announced his departure from Al-Hilal.

Neymar himself posted a message of gratitude to his social media on Tuesday, thanking his former team and fans for their support.

“I gave everything to play and I wish we enjoyed better times on the pitch together ..” he wrote.

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