During the 14th minute, Neymar finally alleviated his pressing emotions by converting a penalty kick in the Sao Paulo state championship game. Santos defeated their opponents by scoring three goals throughout the match including Thaciano in the 26th minute and Guilherme who was assisted by Neymar in the 70th minute.

The Brazilian star spends his 33rd year striving to recover his full playing condition since he never finished a complete 90 minutes for Santos so far. The Sunday game highlighted improvements in his performance after three disheartening appearances because of his recovering knee problem. The competitive return of football competition started for him in October after a twelve-month hiatus.

Hailing from his roots after he mutually ended his short-term and injury-stricken Al-Hilal engagement in Saudi Arabia which amounted to seven matches and one goal Neymar sealed the deal to return to Santos. A six-month Santos contract exists with the additional option to extend his presence at the club.

Neymar scored a total of 138 goals throughout his first period at Santos between 2009 and 2013 through 225 official matches. The moves he made after Barcelona set a new standard in football transfer history reached its peak when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million ($262 million) in 2017. The transfer of the player to Al-Hilal in 2023 came with an agreement of €90 million ($94 million)