SANTOS, Brazil (AP) — Neymar took powerful shots from the edge of the box and ran above his own expectations in 52 minutes on the pitch for Santos on Wednesday in his first game for the Brazilian club since his return last week.
Then he took the opportunity to hit back at his former Al-Hilal coach, Jorge Jesus, who had cast doubts over Neymar's form to play.
The 33-year-old striker wasn't able to cap his night at Vila Belmiro Stadium with a win on his birthday — Santos drew 1-1 draw with Botafogo Ribeirao Preto, a team fighting relegation in the Sao Paulo state championship.
“I need more minutes, more matches. I am not 100%, but I didn’t expect to run as much as I did tonight,” Neymar, who is still recovering from ACL surgery, told journalists. “I will be much better three, four games from now.”
He replaced Gabriel Bontempo after the break and was immediately the center of attention. He became the most fouled player, with five challenges from rivals, in the second half. Neymar also took six shots on goal and gave 22 passes, some as sharp as those in his prime.
Saudi club Al-Hilal terminated Neymar’s contract by mutual consent last week, six months early, after he played only seven matches since September 2023. The ACL injury sidelined him for a year until October.
Speaking after the match, Neymar said his performance was also a response to the negative comments of his former coach.
“I knew that I was going to show something different on the pitch,” Neymar told Brazilian channel CazeTV at Vila Belmiro Stadium. “The pitch is the only place where I can defend myself from that criticism, those comments.”
“I said (at Al-Hilal) that I was ready to play. Not for 90 minutes, I had a super serious injury and then I had another injury,” he added. “I need fans to have some patience.”
Neymar has signed a six-month contract with Santos, which he said could be extended.
Santos opened the scoring before 20,000 fans when Tiquinho Soares converted a penalty in the 38th minute. Alexandre Jesus equalized with a header in the 67th.
Santos wasted several scoring opportunities, including two clear chances after Neymar passes. Once the final whistle was blown, players from the visiting team raced to take pictures with the star.
“I left here at age 21, I travelled the world, made history in the clubs I played for," Neymar said. “This (taking pictures with rivals) is the respect I get back home.”
Neymar played 225 matches for Santos in his first spell. He scored 138 goals, many of them key to winning six titles at the club, which was relegated in 2023 and returned to the top division last year.
As promised, Neymar did not wear the No. 11 that was his during his first spell from 2009-13; he had Pelé’s No. 10.
Neymar was the most expensive player in soccer history when he transferred from Barcelona to PSG for 222 million euros (then $262 million) in 2017. He was sold to Al-Hilal in 2023 for 90 million euros ($94 million).
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press
