Photo via BBC Sport

Coutinho joins Neymar at Santos for rest of season

Philippe Coutinho has agreed to spend the remainder of the current campaign with Santos, linking up alongside longtime international colleague Neymar. The 34-year-old playmaker had been a free agent following his February exit from Vasco da Gama, where he concluded an 81-match stint begun in 2024 citing mental fatigue.

Santos marked the signing online by sharing an archival teenage picture paired with a modern gym recreation, plus footage of Coutinho embracing Neymar inside the locker room while stating he would rather not awaken if the moment were merely an illusion.

This move unites the pair on the same domestic side for the very first time, following Neymar's own homecoming to his youth club in January of the previous year. Coutinho's extensive career path traces back to his beginnings at Vasco, an early transfer to Inter Milan, and a fruitful period at Liverpool starting in 2013 that yielded 54 strikes over 201 outings.

After departing Anfield for Barcelona in a £142 million transaction in 2018, the attacking midfielder went on to represent , Aston Villa, and Al-Duhail ahead of his Vasco comeback.