The agent of Brazilian attacker Neymar has played down suggestions that the Al-Hilal star could terminate his contract and return to boyhood club Santos.
Neymar joined Al-Hilal for a reported €90m from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023, but his time in Saudi Arabia has been plagued by a troublesome knee injury.
The 32-year-old has subsequently ben reduced to just seven appearances across all competitions, including two substitute outings in the AFC Champions League Elite in October and November.
A recent report claimed that Neymar is willing to tear up his €150m-per-year contract at Al-Hilal, which expires in June 2025, in order to make a swift exit and return to his native Brazil.
Neymar has been tipped to make an emotional return to Santos, where he began his career and scored 136 goals in 225 games across a four-year period before joining Barcelona in 2013.
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Could Neymar swap Al-Hilal for Santos?
Neymar will not be joining Palmeiras according to the club's president, who recently mocked the injury-hit attacker and stated that "he is going to Santos."
"He is a great player, but he will not come to our club," Palmeiras president Leila Pereira told Relevo. "There is absolutely no problem but he will not come here. He is going to Santos."
"Palmeiras is not a medical department. I want to invest in someone who can come in immediately, who can start tomorrow if the coach decides."
Neymar's agent has since addressed the speculation linking his client with a return to Santos and has revealed whether he is interested in leaving his current club Al-Hilal.
As quoted by Fabrizio Romano, agent Pini Zahavi said: "There are no talks ongoing for Neymar to leave Al-Hilal. He's under contract and very happy there.
"Neymar's father and me, we are the only people who can talk about Ney's future. I don't know where recent rumours are coming from".
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What does the future hold for Neymar?
Journalist Cesar Luis Merlo initially broke the story about Neymar and his return to Santos, and in response to Zahavi's comments, he still insists that time will prove his original statement to be true.
"Neymar's agent publicly denies what Santos said. I stand by every word I have published," Merlo posted on X.
"Thank God, in Brazil people know how I work. As has happened so many times, time will put things in their place."
As things stand, it is understood that talks between Neymar and Al-Hilal over a new contract are yet to take place, meaning that the attacker will be able to negotiate pre-contract agreements with foreign clubs from January onwards and leave the club for free next summer.
After recovering from a long-term knee injury, Neymar has since picked up a hamstring problem and is facing another spell on the sidelines, forcing him to miss Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League clash with Al-Khaleej on Saturday.
Oliver Thomas
