Football: despite an injury Neymar scores a hat-trick that keeps Santos FC away from relegation

He is often mocked and criticized but when he is not injured Neymar remains, at 33, a unique player. The Brazilian football star proved it last night by scoring a hat-trick for Santos FC against Juventude (3-0) in the Brazilian championship. An important result which keeps his training club away from relegation just one day before the end of the season.

The ex-FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star scored in the 56th and 65th minutes and from a penalty in the 73rd to reach the 150-goal mark for the club where he started as a professional. A hat trick in less than 15 minutes and even though doctors would have advised him not to play due to an injury.

“I am very happy to reach this figure,” said Neymar, 33, in comments broadcast by Santos. I thank all my teammates who have been part of the team over the years,”

It was the striker’s first hat-trick since April 2022, when he played for PSG, in a 6-1 away win against Clermont in Ligue 1.

Injured in mid-September in the right thigh, the international striker made his return at the beginning of November. Since then, he has scored five goals in his last three appearances.

Santos is 14th with 44 points, two more than Vitoria, 17th and first relegation. On Sunday, Pelé’s former team will have a difficult trip to Cruzeiro (3rd), to confirm its retention in Serie A. A few months before the 2026 World Cup, Neymar is also playing an important part in securing his place with the Seleção now led by Carlo Ancelotti.

Furthermore, Flamengo is assured, for its part, of winning the championship after its victory against Ceará (1-0) at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, thanks to a goal from winger Samuel Lino, four days after winning the Copa Libertadores, the Latin American Champions League.

The Carioca team has 78 points, five more than Palmeiras, their opponent in the Libertadores final. This is the eighth national title for Flamengo (1980, 1982, 1983, 1992, 2009, 2019, 2020 and 2025), Brazil’s most popular club. He thus equals the number of coronations of Santos and is only ahead of Palmeiras, who has 12 titles.