Neymar Jr. celebrated his 33rd birthday with a not-so triumphal return to Santos: Rivals asked for selfies later

Neymar Jr. has played his first game with Santos since 2013. The Brazilian forward, who became a star iwith Santos (being in the Ballon d'Or top ten in 2011, the year they won the Libertadores Cup, something almost unheard of for a footballer who didn't play in Europe) before going to Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Al-Hilal, has returned home (and on the day he turned 33).

Santos played against Botafogo (Libertadores champions last year) in a the seventh matchday of the Paulistão, previous competition before the leagues begin. Santos was winning the match 1-0. Neymar entered in the second half, but Botafogo levelled up the game, 1-1.

Neymar has barely played for the last two years, after a long-term injury in Saudi Arabia which took him a year to recover, almost immediately followed by another injury last October. In total he only played seven games with Al-Hilal.

Neymar himself acknowledged that he needs "minutes, games. I'm not at 100%. I didn't expect to run and dribble so much tonight. I think I'll feel better in four or five games", as picked up by BBC Sport. Despite the result, it was a night to remember at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira, Santos' home, a team that got relegated in 2023 for the first time in 111 years, but returned to the Brasileirão last year. "I feel at home here and the place I like most is on the pitch. It's a shame to end my birthday with the bitter taste of a draw, but this team will adapt and give the 'Torcida' [Santos' supporters]a lot of joy". After the match, rival players from Botafogo went to ask him for selfies and autographs, even while some had made him hard tackles earlier...