Brazilian forward Neymar has signed a contract extension with Santos through the end of 2025, the club announced Tuesday.
The deal includes an option to extend his contract through the 2026 World Cup next summer, sources told ESPN Brasil.
His previous contract at Santos was due to expire on June 30.
Neymar, 33, rejoined his boyhood club in January after terminating his contract with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal by mutual consent.
“I made a decision and I listened to my heart,” Neymar said in Santos’ statement. “Santos is not just my team, it’s my home, my roots, my history, and my life.
“Here, I was a boy who became a man, and I am truly loved. Here I can be myself, truly happy. And this is where I want to fulfill the dreams that are still missing in my career. And nothing will stop me.
“I go, I come back and I stay. Where it all began, where it’s never going to end.”
The new deal includes an additional contract between Santos and NR Sports for the use of Neymar’s image, sources told ESPN Brasil.
In the agreement, Santos agreed to pay a minimum of $15 million for all the new contracts from sponsors and earnings in investments generated by Neymar’s presence with the club, sources added.
Earlier this month, Neymar turned down an offer to play on loan at Brazilian club Fluminense in the Club World Cup, with the former Barcelona star focused on regaining his full fitness.
Neymar spent much of his time in Saudi Arabia on the sidelines due to an ACL injury he sustained while on international duty with Brazil in October 2023.
Recurring muscular injuries have limited Neymar to three goals and three assists in 15 games for Santos this year and prevented him from making his long-awaited return to the national team.
But the signing has paid off in other ways for Santos. The club’s president Marcelo Teixeira said that Neymar’s return to Vila Belmiro has led to record-breaking social media growth and significant commercial gains for the club.
“It is a historic and remarkable day for Brazilian football, a gift for the Santos FC fans,” Teixeira said as part of Tuesday’s announcement. “Our idol, our boy, the prince with our number 10 shirt, remains.
“It is a very important moment in this rebuilding process, and we needed Neymar, both on and off the field. The phrase ‘I go, I come back and I stay’ is emblematic and fundamental to the repositioning of Santos FC at its rightful level.”
Despite not being at the top of his game, Neymar’s father and agent, Neymar Sr., recently said that his son has an “interested market” that included European clubs that will compete in the Champions League next season.
“We have started a very good partnership and hope to continue for a long time,” Neymar’s father said in Santos’ statement.
Neymar, who is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, is hopeful of playing in a fourth World Cup.
Brazil’s Serie A was paused on June 12 but will resume after the FIFA Club World Cup.
Santos, who returned to the top flight this year, are 15th in the standings with three wins in 12 games.
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