helicopter in rain and a crowd to receive the “prince” who returned as “or rei”

One day he returned. Just 12 years passed and it seems that there were a thousand, or all those needed to appreciate the passage of time. He left young, with strong and unemployed hairs, like a promise that relocated to the Santos In the new millennium, after King Pelé In the last century.

He returned with a different face, tanned by those miles of years and many t -shirts and a link that marked the border between the face and the hair. As when he left, He was revered before the publicwhich was different but as much as the one who fired him. There were those who are no longer there and were the ones who never imagined that they could have a crack in their team again.

The one who left and the one returned is not the same. The one who said goodbye in 2013 departed to phagocying the world and the one who returned, wasaten football and has no pending accounts In his homeland: he won three Paulista championships in a row, a Brazilian Cup, and a Libertadores. He arrived because he promised to return one day.

In any case, the thorn will have left with the selection. His last name is not among the champions, but he does have the scoring medal: 79 goals in 128 games to overcome no less than, again, Pelé. They could have been more -goles and matches – if not for recurring injuries.

His outside splendor was in Barcelona, ​​where he forged a pair and a friendship with Lionel Messi that continued briefly in the Paris Saint-Germain. Then, the Al-hailal saudifrom where he arrived and played little, something that does not interest anyone in Santos, since he arrived because he is Neymar and Punto.

“I’m very happy, I’m very happy”it was what came to say to Neymar after drying the tears, in the center of the court, with the Albinegra shirt and the link with the sentence “100 % Jesus”.

Promised “Strength, claw, determination, faith and daring” while thousands of people chanted their name. Next to the stage, a huge Santos T -shirt and the phrase “I am leaving, but I will return” that I had pronounced at the time of the farewell.

Neymar arrived in Brazil on Friday from Saudi Arabia after terminating his contract with the Al-Hilal and delivered to the masses. He entered the stadium accompanied by Edinho, son of Pelé, of his friends and his family. He prayed and went to the court. But since he stepped on his country, everything was a constant tribute. And advertising.

When lowering the private plane stairs received a package from an electronic commerce platform. They were the ankle boots of his sponsors. That was Neymar’s first image on the day of his presentation. Then he went up to his helicopter with the initials “njr” drawn in the tail And, at the end of the afternoon, he landed on the grass of a training field of Santos to sign the contract. Then, the party at Vila Belmiro.

Not even the downpour discouraged the most unconditional fans who sigh for reviving the gold times of the Saints De Neymar. Nor to the leaders, who expect an economic push to clean up the maltrechas of the club.

The ‘Neymar effect’ already shows. In a few days the number of partners multiplied. The club’s store overflowed with customers. His name is sold as hot bread and 10 behind the back of 440 reais (about 75 dollars), which almost represent a third of the minimum wage in Brazil.