Neymar Return to Santos Not Done Deal
Neymar Jr.’s return to Santos is not yet a done deal, sources tell MIR97 Media, and since confirmed in statements by the Brazilian club's CEO, despite initial reports claiming that Brazil’s all-time leading scorer will return to his boyhood club on a six-month loan. The 32-year-old’s club situation for the last six months of his deal in Saudi Arabia remains up in the air.
The news of a possible loan to Santos comes days after the superstar, currently with Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal, was linked with a move to the Chicago Fire. Sources have indicated that Al-Hilal had agreed to terms with the Fire that would have allowed the player to move to Chicago this January. In this case, personal terms with the Fire proved to be the stumbling block, as Neymar himself was hesitant to move forward with negotiations.
While Neymar’s intention is to return to Brazil, the Saudi club have thus far refused the loan terms presented by Santos.
Al-Hilal reportedly owes around €70 million to the Brazilian attacker, due over the remaining six months of his deal. Any departure would either require the termination of his current deal, which would see those promised wages disappear, or an agreement between Al-Hilal, Neymar, and his next club that would likely result in a partial payment of those wages.
The Fire – the only MLS club allowed to negotiate with Neymar by virtue of holding his discovery rights – including a meeting last week between club owner Joe Mansueto and Neymar’s agent Pini Zahavi in London. Sources familiar with the situation indicated that optimism had been high early last week that a deal could be arranged. However, the lack of interest from the player's side has made things near-impossible to progress, and talks have cooled substantially since Friday morning.
While the Fire are likely unable – and unwilling – to give Neymar a deal at anything close to the reported €100 million annual salary at Al-Hilal, they can almost certainly offer a substantially better offer than what is being presented by Santos to both Al-Hilal and the player, setting up a relatively common situation in the global transfer market, where a player and their current club have different preferences for a sale based on their respective interests. In such situations, it is not uncommon for information to be released publicly as various sides attempt to secure their preferred choice.
The fabled Brazilian club, which was also home to Pelé, Robinho, and Rodrygo, has recently fallen on hard times, being relegated out of Brazil’s top flight on the last day of the 2023 season amidst a financial crisis that saw the club with a reported €132 million in debts. Given Santos’s financial situation, it is unlikely that they could offer to take on any significant portion of Neymar’s wages over the next six months, explaining the Saudi Arabian club’s reluctance to loan their most expensive player to the Brazilian side.
Sources tell MIR97 Media that while the Fire remain active in the transfer market, Neymar is not the team’s primary target. Instead, the team’s focus has shifted towards adding a central midfielder, amongst other moves. The reported deal for Celta Vigo’s Jonathan Bamba remains close but not yet complete, though he was left out of his team’s matchday squad today against Athletic Bilbao.
The transfer window in MLS is open until April 23, leaving a theoretical possibility that the Fire could re-enter the market for Neymar should he be available after the window in Brazil closes or if the team’s third Designated Player spot remains open until the summer window opens in late July, when he is slated to be a free agent.
While a loan to Santos this January is by no means out of the question, and while the Fire could return to the negotiating table, based on information from sources on both sides of the Atlantic, whatever Neymar’s intentions, the conditions for his return have not yet been met and his future over both the next six months and beyond is still undecided.
