Neymar's emotional Santos return marked with lavish ceremony - ESPN

A tearful Neymar was welcomed back to his boyhood club on Friday by thousands of Santos fans and a concert at the team's home stadium beneath an electronic sign saying, «the prince is back.»

The forward signed a contract upon arrival that sources have told ESPN will run for six months.

Around 20,000 Santos fans filled their Vila Belmiro Stadium in the rain outside São Paulo to celebrate the return of 32-year-old Neymar.

His evening arrival to fireworks capped a three-hour fiesta which also featured local singers.

«I am very happy. We lived great moments here. There's still a lot that could come,» Neymar said on the pitch. When fans chanted they want to see him dribble again, as he often did in his career, he said, «I will not lack boldness [to dribble].»

Shortly before, he greeted his future teammates and club executives at the Santos training ground.

Neymar's private jet landed in the São Paulo state countryside from Saudi Arabia in the morning but he requested a few hours of rest before being flown into Santos by helicopter.

Banners reading «the prince is back» were selling for 10 reais ($1.50) outside the 20,000-seat Vila Belmiro Stadium.

Graffitti inspired by artificial intelligence outside the stadium showed Neymar looking more mature and with a crown on his head — no small feature in a city where Pelé was king for decades until he died in December 2022 at the age of 82.

A video posted by Santos on social media showed Neymar not wearing the No. 11 that was his during his first spell from 2009-13. He will wear Pelé's famous No. 10 shirt during his second spell at the club.

«It will be an honor to wear this sacred jersey,» Neymar said in the video.

Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal announced on Monday that they had