Neymar was in tears on Sunday night after playing through a painful knee injury to help Santos avoid relegation with a 3-0 win over Cruzeiro on the final day of the Brazilian Serie A season.
Neymar, 33, who returned to the club in January, has struggled throughout the year with a meniscus and knee problem, but continued to play in the final rounds.
His reaction at the final whistle became the main image of the club’s dramatic escape, as he dropped to his knees in the centre circle before applauding the home supporters at Vila Belmiro.
Santos, who were close to suffering only the second relegation in their 112-year history, moved up to 12th place with 47 points following Sunday’s result. Thaciano scored twice in the 26th and 28th minutes, while J. Schmidt added the third shortly after the hour.
Neymar scored eight goals in 19 games during the campaign and produced key performances in the final stretch, including a hat trick against Juventude and a goal against Sport Recife, both in 3-0 wins.
Speaking after the match, Neymar confirmed the physical toll of his injury. Tribuna quoted him as saying, “I came for this, to try to help the best way I can. These have been tough weeks for me. I thank those who were with me to lift me up. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have played these matches because of these injuries, this knee problem. I need to rest, and then we will have this knee surgery.”
He did not reveal the date of the surgery but remains hopeful of returning to the Brazil squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup. National coach Carlo Ancelotti has not selected him since taking charge in May, although his recent form has renewed discussion about his international future.
On his official 𝕏 account, Neymar shared images from the match and wrote in Portuguese, “Deus, OBRIGADO!”, meaning “God, Thank You.”
Neymar began his professional career at Santos before moving to Barcelona in 2013, then Paris Saint-Germain and later Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. In January this year, Al Hilal announced that his contract had been terminated by mutual consent after an injury-affected spell.
