Philippe Coutinho has signed for Santos until the end of the 2026 season, reuniting with his former Brazil teammate and childhood friend Neymar for the first time at club level.
The 34-year-old midfielder had been without a club since leaving Vasco da Gama in February, when he cited mental exhaustion. Santos announced the short-term deal on Monday.
Neymar played a central role in bringing him to the club. Coutinho confirmed in his first press conference that Neymar was the first person in football to message him the day after he left Vasco and continued to stay in contact in the months that followed.
“Neymar certainly played a very important role in my coming here,” Coutinho said. “He’s a friend I’ve had since childhood.”
Santos released a video of Coutinho walking into the dressing room and receiving a hug from Neymar. In the clip Neymar tells him: “If it’s a dream, I don’t want to wake up.”
The pair came through Brazil’s youth ranks together and were teammates at the 2018 World Cup, but they have never played for the same club. Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, a year before Coutinho arrived at the Catalan club from Liverpool in a £142 million move.
Coutinho will wear the No. 11 shirt at Santos. He has not played a competitive match since mid-February and will need time to regain full match fitness.
Neymar, also 34, returned to his boyhood club last year and has remained a key figure at the Vila Belmiro. He announced his retirement from international football after Brazil’s exit from the World Cup in July.
For Coutinho the move offers a chance to restart his career alongside one of his closest friends in football. For Santos it adds experience and creativity for the final months of the season.
By James Hartwell | Football Writer, Sportspherearena
Football journalist covering the world’s top leagues and global transfer market — fast, well-sourced, and always first to the story.
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