Is Neymar’s Retirement Closer Than We Think?

There’s also the question of money. Have they made enough to live in retirement in the level of luxury they demand.

The answer to the last question is an undoubted “yes” in the case of Neymar. As well as his huge earnings from football he has been a savvy collector of sponsors ranging from sportswear to casino companies over his career. In 2019 he was reported to have earned a staggering $105 million for the year, a figure now being dwarfed by his reported $150 million a year salary at the Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal.

But there is more to life than money, especially when you have so much that it will last you several lifetimes to spend it all. There’s also the matter of whether the work needed, and risk of injury, is really worth it any more.

Last stop Al Hilal?

When it was announced that Neymar was leaving Paris St Germain for Al Hilal it was very much seen as the end of his career in the top flight of world football.

In following fellow players of his era including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to a team looking for a star perhaps a little past his best, it did seem like the Brazilian was entering into the final act of a career that had seen him hit the highest of highs in the sport, including picking up an Olympic gold medal.

His reported transfer fee to Al Hilal was said to be $90 million, nowhere near the $233 million that PSG paid for him, and a sign that his powers were on the wane.

Since joining the Saudi team in August 2023, things have certainly not gone as planned. After just five games for the club, in which he scored one goal and assisted with another, he damaged his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Brazil in the October of that year.

A major injury at any age, at 32 this is one that takes longer to recover from than it would in a younger player.

This ruled him out for 12 months and, making his return early in November 2024, he immediately picked up a hamstring injury, sidelining him for even longer.

So now there is considerable uncertainty about whether Al Hilal will choose to terminate his contract in January or if they might want to keep him on in the hope that he’s fit to play in the Club World Cup which kicks off in the US on 15 June 2025.

In any case, his contract expires on 25 June of next year and it seems more than likely that it won’t be renewed.

Back to Brazil?

Already, rumours are starting to circulate that Neymar may be planning to make his career come full circle. Santos in Sao Paulo is the club that he first played for at the age of 17, and he may well be nursing an urge to return there at the age of 32.

The club are certainly interested in the prospect and it’s been reported that they are “60% confident” that he will return there.

There’s more reason to believe that the move could happen as the player and the club already share one sponsor and they have offered him the chance of even more commercial tie-ups to compensate for the inevitable drop in salary that the move will involve.

Mixing it with Messi

Another theory is that the Brazilian could be setting his sights on major league soccer in the US. He’s recently bought a $26 million property in Florida and he’s known to be close to Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez who also play for the Inter Miami team part-owned by David Beckham.

The fact that the trio once played together forming one of Barcelona’s most potent attacking units would be of an obvious appeal to the Miami team.

One thing that most observers agree upon is that a move back to Europe is very unlikely. It’s not felt that any of the best teams in the top five leagues would be interested in the ageing and seemingly injury-prone star.

And he’s unlikely to have any appetite to join a smaller club, nor would they be able to meet his salary demands.

Of course, he’s spent a career wrong-footing defenders. So he could do that to fans too by suddenly announcing his retirement. It must be dispiriting to have recently returned from injury only to pick up another one.

As to whether this experience is enough to make him hang up his boots for good, only time will tell.