Neymar criticized Al Hilal management and fans indirectly, while he launched an attack on coach Jorge Jesus, after his first appearance with Santos.
Al Hilal terminated Neymar’s contract by mutual consent between the two parties last January after Jesus decided to exclude him from the local list due to his lack of technical and physical readiness.
Neymar played his first match after joining Santos on Thursday against Botafogo in the Sao Paulo State Cup, where he came on as a substitute in the match that ended 0-0 and won the Man of the Match award.
After the match, the Brazilian player said, “So far, I am not in 100% good condition, but I ran a lot today contrary to my expectations. I will be much better after 3 or 4 matches.”
He also added, attacking Jesus, “The stadium is the only place where I can defend myself against criticism. I was confident that I would show my quality on the field and respond to everyone.”
“I told Al Hilal that I was ready to come back and play. I wasn’t lucky there. I played 90 minutes and then suffered a very serious injury. I came back and got injured again. All I needed was some patience from the Al Hilal fans,” he concluded.
It remains to be noted that Al Hilal signed Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023 for 90 million euros, but he only appeared in 7 matches, during which he scored one goal.
