Neymar will return to Santos’ next match after the World Cup when he attended a poker tournament

Neymar officially wrapped up the finals World Cup campaign with Brazil, although he has not yet entered the field Santos since they were eliminated in the Round of 16 against Norway. However, with the club starting the second half of their 2026 season, the 34-year-old is expected to return to action this weekend, a few days after he was seen competing in a high-level poker tournament in Sao Paulo.
Brazil made an early exit from North America following a 2-1 loss to Erling Haaland and Norway. Neymar managed to pull one back from the penalty spot in stoppage time, but it proved to be too little, too late, marking the end of his impressive international career, as he confirmed emotionally after the match.
Given more time off after the termination, Neymar spent a few days on vacation in the United States with his family while Santos restarted the game. The team captain played in the Serie A group game against Botafogo on July 16, as well as Tuesday’s Copa Sudamericana trip to Venezuela, where Santos produced an impressive performance. 4-1 win over Universidad Central.
While his colleagues went on a difficult journey to Venezuela, Neymar was back in Brazil participating in the BSOP winter tournamentthe fourth leg of the 2026 Brazilian Poker Championship. The event, hosted at the WTC Sheraton Gold Hall in Sao Paulo, saw the striker enter the R$25,000 ($4,933) buyout category.
Neymar had already joined the team training at the Rei Pele training center last Friday, although the coaching staff chose not to attend the Sudamericana match. He trained normally again on Tuesday morning before heading to the poker tables that nighttournament where he previously placed 29th out of 346 entrants for the 2025 program.
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Neymar will be back at the weekend
Under contract with Santos until December 2026, The plan remains for Neymar to see out his current contract O Peixe before exploring his next career steps. With his post-World Cup break over, the striker is determined to make an official return for Santos’ next home game.
Santos coach Cuca dismissed all controversy over Neymar’s absence from the continental game on Tuesday during a pre-match press conference: “Since he was sidelined because he didn’t have a holiday, it was decided that he should continue here to build up his strength and train hard.so that he can run consecutive games. In the next ten days, we will play four times. What was the benefit of bringing him here? You came, you saw how difficult the journey is, how difficult it is to get here in good condition. He is back at work, and training well.
Santos will welcome Chapecoense to Vila Belmiro on Saturday, July 25, and Cuca confirmed that “Neymar was detained on Saturday.” With him fit and fresh, the legendary pitcher is ready to lead the home run team.
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