From the shining hope of Brazilian football to the symbol of wasted talent, Neymar returns to his homeland after a failed move to Al-Hilal. But is this a rebirth or just a quiet end to a career that never reached the heights expected?
Neymar returns to Santos after £322m 'nightmare' in Saudi Arabia. Is this the end of an unfinished dream?
Return is not an option, it is inevitable
They say "never go back to where you came from", but sometimes it's the only way left. Just 18 months after joining Al-Hilal for a huge deal, Neymar and the Saudis decided to terminate his contract, allowing him to return to Santos - where his dream began.
How much did it cost? £322m for seven games, three assists, one goal. Al-Hilal paid £77m in transfer fees, plus £2.5m a week in wages, and got almost nothing in return.
Once again, Neymar's career has been shrouded in regret. From a brilliant talent, he has become a symbol of what is wrong with modern football - where money, fame and excessive expectations turn a brilliant player into a lost wanderer.
The story of Neymar is not simply a football career. It is a modern football tragedy - where a player not only has to bear the pressure from millions of fans, but also from an entire football industry that is always looking for a "successor".
Brazil needed a new Pelé. The world needed a successor to Messi. And so, when Neymar shone for Santos and helped the club win the 2011 Copa Libertadores, everyone believed that this boy was destined for world football.
Neymar has returned home.
But the greater the expectations, the deeper the disappointment. Neymar was soon pampered to the point that the basic principles of football did not apply to him.
A prime example was in 2010, when Neymar refused to let his teammate take a penalty and got into a heated argument with coach Dorival Júnior. When the coach proposed an internal sanction, he was immediately fired by the club.
Referees in the Brazilian league also gave Neymar special protection. But when he stepped onto the field to play in the 2011 Copa America, the experienced defenders of Venezuela and Paraguay did not let him play freely. Neymar became disoriented when he did not receive favorable decisions as before.
Former midfielder Carlos Casagrande once openly criticized O Globo: "He is always the center of everything. Neymar seems to forget that football is a team sport."
And then, that image kept repeating itself. World Cup 2014, 2018, 2022, Neymar was still the center of attention, still shining at every moment, but Brazil always collapsed when expectations reached their peak.
From Barcelona to PSG - The turning point and the painful fall
In 2013, Neymar left Santos to join Barcelona, in a deal shrouded in financial scandal. Barca were thought to have paid €57.1 million, but Spanish authorities later discovered the actual figure was €86.2 million, with €45 million going to Neymar’s parents.
The scandal forced President Sandro Rosell to resign, paving the way for Josep Maria Bartomeu, who then plunged Barcelona into an unprecedented financial crisis.
Neymar is the regret of world football.
Neymar's first season in Spain was not smooth, but then he, Messi - Suarez - Neymar (MSN) created one of the strongest attacks in history, helping Barca win the 2014/15 treble. However, instead of continuing to become Messi's "heir", Neymar unexpectedly left Barcelona in 2017, accepting to become the most expensive contract in history with PSG (222 million euros).
The reason? Wanting to escape Messi's shadow and win the Ballon d'Or. But it turned out to be the biggest mistake of Neymar's career.
PSG could not win the Champions League despite having the trio Neymar - Mbappe - Messi. Neymar was constantly injured at the most important moments. He gradually lost his passion for football, becoming a commercial symbol rather than a player.
Finally, PSG got fed up. They were ready to let Neymar leave in the summer of 2023, and Al-Hilal appeared with a huge offer.
At Al-Hilal, things were even worse than expected. Neymar was injured almost immediately, playing just seven games before being released.
The question is: Why did he go to Saudi Arabia? For money? For fame? Or simply because he had no other choice? Either way, this is the darkest chapter of Neymar's career.
What now? Can he be reborn? Neymar has taken a 99% pay cut to return to Santos - but he still earns £2.125m a week from Al-Hilal.
This decision is considered a positive sign. Maybe Neymar is finding the joy of football again. Maybe he wants to escape the whirlwind of fame and money. Or maybe, after all, Neymar just wants to end his career where the dream began. But one thing is certain: Neymar is no longer the talented boy he once was.
Neymar returned to Santos no longer as a "future world player", but as a man consumed by football, exhausted, and looking for final peace.
Santos could be the place where he comes back to life. Or perhaps, this is just a quiet end to a career that could have been much greater. Can Neymar find himself again, or is this the end of a genius who was never quite finished?
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/noi-tiec-nuoi-mang-ten-neymar-ar923422.html
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