Neymar was set to be welcomed back to his boyhood club on Friday by thousands of Santos fans and a concert in the home stadium beneath an electronic sign saying, “The prince is back.” Neymar's private jet landed in the Sao Paulo state countryside from Saudi Arabia in the morning but he requested a few hours of rest before being flown into Santos by helicopter.

Neymar has left Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal to return to Santos, the Brazilian club where both he and Pele made their names. Santos posted a video captioned "ThePrinceIsBack" on X in which Neymar said: "King Pele,

Neymar has confirmed he will be re-joining boyhood club Santos, 12 years after he first left to join Barcelona as one of the most promising youngsters to ever come out of Brazil.