Former Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho joins Neymar at Santos FC until end of the season

Philippe Coutinho has reunited with ⁠his former Brazil teammate Neymar at Brazilian club Santos for the ‌rest of the season.

The former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder, 34, has been without a club since leaving Vasco da Gama in February.

Coutinho returned to his childhood club in 2024 but left after 81 appearances, saying he was “tired mentally”.

“Neymar certainly played a very important role in my coming here,” Coutinho said in a news conference on Monday.

“He’s a player who needs no introduction, a friend I’ve had since childhood, and I think he was the first person in football to send me a message when I left Vasco.The next day he had already sent me a message, but at that moment I said: ‘Look Ney, it would be a pleasure to play with you, but I’m not feeling well right now, it’s not possible’ and it really didn’t make sense to me.

“Months later he contacted me again, but my answer was the same. Then two weeks ago he sent me another message… Then I stopped, reconsidered … I wanted to go back to playing football and I thought: ‘Why not?’ I’m going to a big club, in another city. It would be unfair to me not being able to go back to work and not being able to go back to playing football.

“I wanted to thank the president, Mattos and Ney. I’m happy to accept this challenge.”

Coutinho, who will wear the No. 11 jersey at Santos, will be at the club until the end of the year and hasn’t looked beyond then.

“The contract is what was offered to me. I made the decision to accept and come. Obviously, playing alongside Neymar carries a lot of weight,” he said.

“But regarding the future, next year … I can’t answer anything, I don’t know what it will be like. What I can say is that I come with a great desire to work, give my best and perform well during these three months, and next year we’ll see what can happen.”

Neymar’s contract at Santos expires at the end of the year.

Coutinho, who made his last appearance for Brazil in March 2022, returned to his boyhood club Vasco da Gama in 2024 ‌but left the team in ​February this year.