Neymar Finally Picks Club for 2026 World Cup Build-Up

Neymar’s future for the next 12 months has been belatedly settled.

Neymar Jr. has spent the past 12 months back at Santos. / Miguel Schincariol/AFP/Getty Images

Neymar Jr. has finally settled upon a contract extension with Santos, which will keep the Brazilian icon at his boyhood club until December 2026, clearing up his future ahead of the all-important World Cup next summer.

The 33-year-old has flirted with an exit for months. A potential reunion with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez at Inter Miami was spectacularly floated before being quickly dismissed, and there was talk of all sorts of transfers for the most expensive player of all time. Neymar’s focus, predictably, revolves around getting into the best possible shape for the World Cup, where his place on the plane is contingent on being fully fit.

Without providing an official statement to corroborate widespread reports, Santos effectively confirmed Neymar’s extension with a video released on social media. The dramatic clip showed a large stadium screen replace the words June 10, 2026—the original expiration date of Neymar’s Santos contract—with Dec. 31, 2026, his new endpoint.

Tá chegando a hora. ⏰ pic.twitter.com/EryjX2YRPf

— Santos FC (@SantosFC) December 31, 2025

It’s been a testing return to Brazil for Neymar. Initially hailed as the returning prince, Pelé’s long-heralded heir back at his boyhood club after surpassing the legendary striker in the international scoring charts, injuries have dogged him throughout 2025.

The former Barcelona forward is currently recovering from successful knee surgery, which is likely to sideline him until the middle of February—affording Brazil’s No. 10 with just a matter of weeks to win Carlo Ancelotti over before the March international break.

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Neymar first damaged his meniscus back in November, but vowed to battle through the pain barrier—against medical advice—to help Santos avoid relegation. The devilish trickster may have lost some of his swiftness, but he maintains a steely determination which has underpinned a career often misjudged as unfulfilled.

Up against fellow strugglers Sport Recife last November, Neymar scored the opening goal and teed up the game-sealing third of a 3–0 win. The veteran captain was solely responsible for all three strikes against Juventude four days later before finishing the season with a 3–0 win over high-flying Cruzeiro.

Santos, who had only won promotion from the second tier 12 months earlier, ultimately climbed four points clear of relegation and even conspired to qualify for the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana, South America’s equivalent of the Europa League.

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Healthy Windfall Coming the Way of Neymar’s Family

Neymar’s father keeps a close eye on his son’s career. / Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Before the release of the not-so-cryptic Santos social media post, Globo reported news of Neymar’s extension. The Brazilian publication added that this deal also entitled NR Sports, the company run by the player’s parents, to a cool R$85 million ($15.4 million) which will be paid by the end of 2026.

Football has been ingrained in Neymar’s life since his first night alive thanks to his father’s past career as a journeyman winger. While he has come across countless medics since, Neymar was being looked over by the physiotherapist of his father’s club before his first night’s sleep, as Atilio Suarti had come to pick up the newborn baby and his parents from the hospital.

Not long after, Neymar Sr. burst into his team’s hotel to declare that his son would be “the best Brazilian football player ever.” That faith may not have quite propelled Neymar Jr. to those heights, it has certainly been a financially rewarding endeavor.

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