Neymar, one of the idols of Saints, He requested that the 11 shirt not be worn by any player until his eventual return to the Brazilian club, announced this Monday the president of the team, Marcelo Teixeira.
“Yesterday (Sunday) I received a call from him and he told me: ‘President, since you have withdrawn the 10 until Santos returns to first, then withdraw the 11 until I return’”, Teixeira declared to the TV Santa Cecília channel, from the port city of Santos.
Neymar’s request was interpreted by Teixeira as a sign of an eventual return of the Saudi Al Hilal player to Santos, a club that will play in the second division for the first time in 2024 and where Neymar trained as a player.
“I was happy and I already have hope. I am very excited that the return to the first division is so quick and the return of Neymar in the future as well. We will study the matter and we will also keep the 11 saved waiting for Neymar to return,” said the leader, who He did not talk about specific dates.
On Saturday, in his first press conference after being elected as the new president of the club, Teixeira had announced that Santos would refrain from using the number 10 shirt of its greatest idol, Pelé, who died at the age of 82 on December 29 of last year. .
“We are going to momentarily withdraw 10 and 11. No one can wear the number 10 anymore, which will only be worn by a new star when we go up to the first division. And number 11 will also wait until our star player returns,” Teixeira reinforced this Monday, although the decision depends on the club’s members.
It is worth remembering that 11 was the number that the Brazilian star used on his back in his early days with Santos, just like in el FC Barcelona when he paired with Messi, who I was wearing 10.
Santos relegated to second division
Last Wednesday, on the last day of the Brazilian league, Santos lost at home, 1-2, against Fortaleza and was relegated for the first time in its 111-year history.
The relegation caused violent demonstrations by its fans, who invaded the field, looted commercial premises and set buses and cars on fire in the surroundings of the stadium.
Neymar recovers from a terrible injury
At the moment the Brazilian star is recovering from an injury, the result of a twist in the knee in a fortuitous play at the end of the first half of Tuesday’s match in which Uruguay beat Brazil 2-0, at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo for the fourth day of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Although the CBF did not detail how long the recovery of the 31-year-old attacker will last, specialists consulted by the Brazilian press assure that Neymar will be sidelined for between 7 and 10 months due to the severity of the injury.
“It is a very sad moment, the worst,” said the Saudi Al-Hilal player and main star of the Brazilian team in a comment he published on his Instagram account after doctors diagnosed him with one of the most serious injuries in his career.
“I know I’m strong but this time I’m going to need even more of mine (family and friends). It is not easy to go through an injury and surgery, but imagine what it is like to go through all that again four months after having recovered,” added the World Cup player, alluding to the injury from which he had just recovered.
“I have faith, even too much. But I leave her strength in the hands of God, so that he can renew mine. Thank you for the messages of support and affection,” the attacker concluded in his message on social networks.
Keep reading:
· Neymar is left without a girlfriend amid rumors of infidelity
· Neymar leaves injured and in tears from a double-header eliminatory matchday to be forgotten in Brazil
· Neymar receives a medical discharge and will begin rehabilitation after the operation