Santos plans temporary loan for Neymar

Brazilian club Santos continues its attempts to bring back its former star, Neymar da Silva, the current Al Hilal player, after a 12-year absence. The Brazilian club plans to sign Neymar on a six-month loan, with the intention of signing him permanently in the near future. Press reports indicated that Santos' interest in Neymar's return has recently increased, especially after statements by Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus, in which he announced that Neymar would not be registered in the Saudi League during the second half of the current season, and that he would only be part of the team's plans in the AFC Champions League, according to FlashScore. Santos seeks to take advantage of the last months of Neymar's contract with Al Hilal, which extends until mid-2025, by offering a temporary loan offer with an agreement to sign the player permanently after the end of the loan period. In an innovative move, Santos used artificial intelligence to prepare an influential video clip, in which Brazilian football legend Pele appeared, talking about the reasons that prompted Neymar to return to his mother club. The video was presented to Neymar's team, which left a positive impression on them. The campaign received a great response from Santos fans, as they chanted slogans during the Paulistão match against Mirassol, calling on Neymar to return to "Villa Belmiro", chanting: "Go home Neymar!" Neymar had been absent from the stadiums for a long time due to a cruciate ligament injury in October 2023, then suffered a new muscle injury in November 2024, which affected his participation in matches, as he played only a few minutes in the AFC Champions League against Al Ain of the Emirates and Esteghlal of Iran. Santos hopes that this step will be the beginning of Neymar's return to its ranks, in light of his suffering from a lack of participation with Al Hilal this season.