Neymar is refusing to say whether his career ends in December.

The forward is running out the final months of a Santos contract that expires at the end of the year, and asked about what comes next he has publicly kept every option open: another year at his boyhood club, a move elsewhere, or the retirement his father is pleading with him to reject.

“I don’t know how long [I’ll keep playing], I’m not thinking about stopping, nor do I know how long I’ll carry on,” Neymar told viewers of his own YouTube channel earlier this month during an auction for the Instituto Neymar Jr., in comments carried by beIN Sports.

“I have a contract with Santos until December. I intend to see it through, to honour the Santos shirt as best I can, and then I’ll think about it when my contract ends.”

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“Whether I stay at Santos, move on, stop playing or carry on. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.”

The MetLife goodbye

The uncertainty comes a month after a World Cup exit that ended Neymar’s Brazil career.

Brazil were knocked out in the last 16 on 5 July, beaten 2-1 by Norway at MetLife Stadium. Erling Haaland headed in the opener 11 minutes from time and drilled a second on 90 minutes. Neymar, on as a substitute, pulled one back from the penalty spot in stoppage time, in what was in all likelihood his last touch in a Brazil shirt.

He collapsed in tears after the whistle and made his international retirement official within hours.

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“I tried. It started here, at MetLife Stadium, and I finished here. It is now over,” he said, as reported by Al Jazeera, referencing his senior debut on the same pitch against the United States in August 2010.

Back at the CT Rei Pelé

Neymar reported back to Santos’ CT Rei Pelé in mid-July for face-to-face talks with president Marcelo Teixeira and the club’s board, according to reporting by Yahoo Sports. Since rejoining from Al-Hilal in January 2025, he has played eight of Santos’ 19 Brasileirão games this season, scoring four times.

Any renewal is not straightforward. Santos hold board elections in December, and Teixeira, the president who engineered the return, has not confirmed he will run again.

His father, Neymar Santos Sr., has taken the opposite view publicly, urging his son on social media to “keep playing football” and to “feel the joy of having the ball at your feet again.”

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Neymar himself is not committing either way.

“There’s still a long way to go until December, so let’s take it one step at a time.”

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