SANTOS, Brazil (AP) — Neymar took powerful shots from the edge of the box and ran above his own expectations in 52 minutes on the pitch for Santos on Wednesday in his first game for the Brazilian club since his return last week.
Then he took the opportunity to hit back at his former Al-Hilal coach, Jorge Jesus, who had cast doubts over Neymar's form to play.
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Brazil's Neymar dribbles the ball during his debut for Santos FC in a Sao Paulo league soccer match against Botafogo-SP, in Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazil's Neymar is tackled as he chases a ball during his debut for Santos FC in a Sao Paulo league soccer match against Botafogo-SP, in Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazil's Neymar warms up before his debut match for Santos FC in a Sao Paulo league soccer game against Botafogo-SP in Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazil's Neymar is fouled by Botafogo-SP's Alisson Cassiano during his debut match for Santos FC, in a Sao Paulo league soccer match, in Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
The 33-year-old striker wasn't able to cap his night at Vila Belmiro Stadium with a win on his birthday — Santos drew 1-1 draw with Botafogo Ribeirao Preto, a team fighting relegation in the Sao Paulo state championship.
“I need more minutes, more matches. I am not 100%, but I didn’t expect to run as much as I did tonight,” Neymar, who is still recovering from ACL surgery, told journalists. “I will be much better three, four games from now.”
He replaced Gabriel Bontempo after the break and was immediately the center of attention. He became the most fouled player, with five challenges from rivals, in the second half. Neymar also took six shots on goal and gave 22 passes, some as sharp as those in his prime.
Saudi club Al-Hilal terminated Neymar’s contract by mutual consent last week, six months early, after he played only seven matches since September 2023. The ACL injury sidelined him for a year until October.
Speaking after the match, Neymar said his performance was also a response to the negative comments of his former coach.
“I knew that I was going to show something different on the pitch,” Neymar told Brazilian channel CazeTV at Vila Belmiro Stadium. “The pitch is the only place where I can defend myself from that criticism, those comments.”
“I said (at Al-Hilal) that I was ready to play. Not for 90 minutes, I had a super serious injury and then I had another injury,” he added. “I need fans to have some patience.”
Neymar has signed a six-month contract with Santos, which he said could be extended.
Santos opened the scoring before 20,000 fans when Tiquinho Soares converted a penalty in the 38th minute. Alexandre Jesus equalized with a header in the 67th.
Santos wasted several scoring opportunities, including two clear chances after Neymar passes. Once the final whistle was blown, players from the visiting team raced to take pictures with the star.
“I left here at age 21, I travelled the world, made history in the clubs I played for," Neymar said. “This (taking pictures with rivals) is the respect I get back home.”
Neymar played 225 matches for Santos in his first spell. He scored 138 goals, many of them key to winning six titles at the club, which was relegated in 2023 and returned to the top division last year.
As promised, Neymar did not wear the No. 11 that was his during his first spell from 2009-13; he had Pelé’s No. 10.
Neymar was the most expensive player in soccer history when he transferred from Barcelona to PSG for 222 million euros (then $262 million) in 2017. He was sold to Al-Hilal in 2023 for 90 million euros ($94 million).
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Brazil's Neymar dribbles the ball during his debut for Santos FC in a Sao Paulo league soccer match against Botafogo-SP, in Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazil's Neymar is tackled as he chases a ball during his debut for Santos FC in a Sao Paulo league soccer match against Botafogo-SP, in Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazil's Neymar warms up before his debut match for Santos FC in a Sao Paulo league soccer game against Botafogo-SP in Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazil's Neymar is fouled by Botafogo-SP's Alisson Cassiano during his debut match for Santos FC, in a Sao Paulo league soccer match, in Santos, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Sixteen-year-old Arthur Brodard went to the Le Constellation bar with friends to celebrate the New Year. Nearly 48 hours after a devastating fire, his mother still held out hope he might be one of the six injured people who remained unidentified after one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.
Those half-dozen people gave a glimmer of hope for families whose loved ones were missing in the aftermath of the fire at the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana that killed 40 people and injured 119 others, 113 of whom have been formally identified.
“I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard, from Lausanne, Switzerland, told reporters. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”
The severity of the burns has made it difficult to identify both the injured and deceased, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. In some cases, wallets and any identification documents inside turned to ash in the flames. An Instagram account has filled up with photos of people who were unaccounted for, and friends and relatives begged for tips about their whereabouts.
Officials in the Valais regional government acknowledged the prolonged heartache.
“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference.
Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government, added: “We are aware of the particularly difficult hours, of the unbearable side of every minute that passes without answers."
Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the bar crowded with New Year's Eve revelers, two hours after midnight Thursday.
“We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could, we saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”
Many of the injured were in their teens to mid-20s, police said. Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar.
Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes. The region's top prosecutor warned of possible prosecutions if any criminal liability is found.
The injured included 71 Swiss nationals, 14 French and 11 Italians, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, according to Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the Valais region. The nationalities of 14 people were still unclear.
Emanuele Galeppini, a promising teenage Italian golfer who competed internationally, was officially listed as one of Italy’s missing nationals. His uncle, Sebastiano Galeppini, told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the DNA checks, though the Italian Golf Federation on its website announced that he had died.
Dazio reported from Berlin. Associated Press journalists Geir Moulson in Berlin, Graham Dunbar in Geneva, and Nicole Winfield and Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this report.
People bring flowers and letters, reading "Rest in Peace", near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
People mourn behind flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
The sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations is seen in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday morning, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
People bring flowers and candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
People mourn behind flowers and letters near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
