Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star, Neymar, has made his second debut for boyhood club, Santos, in a Paulista A1 match against Botafogo of the Serie B earlier on Thursday.
Playing on his birthday, Neymar received a loud ovation when he was presented to the spectators before the match, and had the stadium buzzing louder with his skills after coming off the bench at half-time.
In the end, the 33-year-old completed three dribbles, while 83% of his passes were successful. He also got a shot on target but was denied by the Botafogo goalkeeper.
At the end of the match, Neymar was swarmed by players and officials as each person made to take photos with him on such a memorable occasion.
Following his first run out with Santos, he may be in line to feature again when the club takes on Novorizontino on Sunday as he continues to rebuild his fitness after spending months on the sidelines during his spell at Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia.
Speaking after the match, Neymar expressed his feelings at the comments made by Al Hilal head coach, Jorge Jesus, about his fitness at the start of the year.
“I’m ready to play. Of course I won’t be able to play 90 minutes, I came from a long time out injured. I needed games,” Neymar said. “Obviously I was very upset with Jorge Jesus’ words when he said I didn’t have the capability to play like the rest of the team.”
The Saudi Pro League club had left Neymar out of the squad for the second half of the season, with Jesus stating that the player would have been incapable of competing at the physical levels expected in the league.