Neymar spends €1,500 a day on fuel and celebrates his 33rd birthday on his debut day
The star, who is going to training by helicopter, will play for a few minutes. Caixinha, who will not be on the bench due to suspension, guaranteed this. Peixe surpasses Cristiano Ronaldo in social media followers
Neymar will make his debut wearing the Santos jersey, almost a dozen years after leaving for Barcelona , in the next few hours (at 00:35 on Thursday, Lisbon time), in a Paulistão match against Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto. Peixe is first in Group B, with seven points, and Pantera is last in Group A, with three, but qualification is the least important thing in a match that generates expectation throughout Brazil and the world.
Pedro Caixinha was the one who confirmed that Neymar will play, right after the 3-1 win over São Paulo at the weekend. The Portuguese coach, who was sent off in that derby and will not sit on the bench, did not say whether the former Al -Hilal player , who turns 33 today and has a serious recent history of injuries, will start and leave halfway or come on halfway and stay until the end. The press that covers Santos is risking the second hypothesis.
“He’s going to play, we all hope he joins the group to train, we’ve already analysed it and will talk to him about integrating our dynamic”, said Caixinha, in an attempt to make it seem like the star is just another player in the squad. But all the external signs indicate that this is not the case: unlike his teammates, who arrive by car, Neymar lands by helicopter in Santos, where he is expected to move soon. The one-hour journey in the player’s aircraft, from his mansion in Mangaratiba, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, to the city of São Paulo consumes around 300 litres of fuel and costs the athlete around seven thousand reais (more or less 1500 euros) a day, round trip, according to an estimate made by the website GE. And another sign that the Brazilian international is special is his incredible media presence.
In six days, Santos surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo , the person with the most fans on social media, in followers on Instagram. Peixe gained 2.4 million new fans in January, compared to CR7’s 1.5. On Tik Tok, the number went from 2.6 to four million. “Neymar’s return takes Santos to a new level, both on and off the field, accelerating the rebuilding process and restoring the fans’ self-esteem,” said Marcelo Teixeira, the club’s president.
Returning to the field, Neymar has been used among the reserves in training but will have a reserved spot in the attack in the medium term, probably as number 10, between the Venezuelan winger Soteldo and the team’s standout player last year Guilherme and behind the former Porto player Tiquinho Soares , signed from Botafogo. It is up to Pedro Caixinha, who is recovering from eye surgery, to choose the eleven.
