No Europe move for Neymar as Brazilian signs new Santos deal to aid World Cup hopes

Martin Macdonald

• 7 Jan 2026 04:30 CST
• 6 min read

Nieuws

Neymar has signed a new contract with Santos until the end of 2026.

It was a tumultuous 2025 campaign for the Brazilian Serie A side, but they managed to avoid relegation on the final match of the season at the weekend.

Each season, four teams are relegated from the division and heading into the last fixture Santos were in grave danger of finishing in the bottom four, but things were so tight in the bottom half of the table that they ended up finishing in 12th.

Just six points separated Gremio, who finished ninth, and Fortaleza, who finished 18th.

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Santos knew if they won on the final day they would be safe and they did just that, defeating Cruzeiro 3-0 with Thaciano scoring two Joao Schmidt scoring the other.

Neymar was excellent in the game and continued his superb recent form as he headed into the final day having scored five in his previous three games. On this occasion, he was the orchestrator.

Following the game, he cast doubt on his Santos future, telling reporters:

"I came for this, to try to help the best way I can. These have been tough weeks for me. I thank those who were with me to lift me up. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have played these matches because of these injuries, this knee problem. I need to rest and then we will have this knee surgery.

“I do not know, really. I don’t know. I need some days now, I need to rest, disconnect then decide my future. For sure my priority always goes to Santos.”

There was speculation that he might may a high-profile return to Europe to aid his hopes of getting in the Brazil squad for the 2026 World Cup, but he apparently believes Santos is the club that can help him most with that target for the summer.

"Santos is my place, I'm at home," the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar said in a video posted on the club's social media.

He told the fans specifically: "It's with you that I want to achieve the dreams that are still missing."

Neymar hasn't played for Brazil since 2023 after suffering a serious knee injury. In those last few matches of the 2025 Serie A season he was undoubtedly playing through pain to help Santos in their relegation fight.

He's had surgery now and will hope to get back to near-full fitness as the World Cup approaches in the summer.

Will Neymar play for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup?

Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti previously warned that he will only take players to the World Cup who are at 100% fitness.

He specifically name checked Neymar and Vinicius Junior, both of whom suffered from form and injury issues in 2025.

"There are many players who are very good, I need to choose players that are 100%," Ancelotti said at the World Cup draw.

"It's not just Neymar, it could be [Real Madrid forward] Vinicius. If Vinicius is at 90%, I'll call up another player who is at 100%, because it's a team that has a very high level of competence, especially up front. Up front, we have really many good players."

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