Santos president: Year below expectations, eyes Neymar renewal | OneFootball

Santos closed out the season with a 3-0 victory over Cruzeiro in the 38th round of the Brazilian Championship. After the match, president Marcelo Teixeira held a press conference and stated that he was not satisfied. For him, there is nothing to celebrate about staying up.

“We finished a season well below expectations. We have nothing to celebrate, absolutely nothing. It was Santos’ obligation to get promoted last year and remain in the top tier. We had a set goal. We increased the number of competitions for 2026, which was the plan, now with an international competition. It’s essential to return to a tournament like the Copa Sudamericana, it’s an alternative source of revenue,” he said.

“I don’t want to celebrate. We are dissatisfied. We don’t want this year’s results again. The teams that were promoted with Santos are also having difficulties. There are no excuses. We are Santos and we want the club to be a protagonist and repositioned at its level. That’s what we’re going to do, without comparing ourselves to anyone, fully aware of our objectives. No one here is an amateur,” he added.

The president admitted that he made mistakes in the planning for 2025. He recalled that negotiations with some coaches did not progress and that ended up harming the club. Now, with Juan Pablo Vojvoda, the director believes in improvement next season.

“I come forward to admit the mistakes. I take responsibility for the mistakes of 2025, as well as for some successes. The most important thing now is that we have a football department, a technical staff, that has shown progress in their work. We recovered results and achieved this season’s goal. I know the greatness of Santos. It’s not about fighting relegation. On the contrary. Santos should always be competing at the top. We knew the pressures we would face and we resisted. I want to thank the fans immensely, who stood by Santos in these last matches of the championship, made a huge difference, as well as the protection given to the technical staff and the squad. They were able to work and focus exclusively on the decisions. They were true finals. Thank God we stayed up,” he analyzed.

Neymar’s Situation

Marcelo Teixeira also spoke about Neymar. The Santos president made it clear that now, with the end of the Brasileirão, the goal is to renew with the attacking midfielder, whose contract runs only until the end of the year.

“We looked each other in the eye and agreed to schedule a meeting to calmly and clearly define this situation. Then the medical department will detail when the procedure will be. We want Neymar to stay. The project is until the World Cup. We will adapt the contract. The expectation is that he will stay at Santos until the 2026 World Cup,” he reported.

“Any club in the world that has Neymar, depends on him. We knew Neymar would need to adapt. Now, even with a new occurrence, which can be repaired, he will be able to play in next year’s competitions. Neymar will always make a difference on the field. When he’s not well physically and is out, the team feels it. It doesn’t mean there’s no quality, but we need to recognize that adjustments need to be made,” he said.

“We will have four competitions in 2026, we intend for Neymar to stay and to continue this restructuring. The State Championship starts on the 11th. We were going to do a pre-season in the USA, but it won’t be possible. We want to internationalize, but we have to think about the Paulista with a team already prepared, including for the Brazilian Championship at the end of January. We want to see Santos fighting for a title, but we have to allow time for a team that was in the second division to mature. Now, with the current coaching staff, we have an advantage so as not to make mistakes that could compromise the 2026 season,” he concluded.

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.