Santos names Neymar’s father as chief executive
Santos has appointed Neymar’s father as chief executive until the end of 2026, formalising his role at the club ahead of December’s presidential election and as talks over a potential sale of its football business continue.
Santos appointed Neymar da Silva Santos, the owner of NR Sports and father of the club’s forward Neymar, as chief executive on November 6. He will report directly to president Marcelo Teixeira and sit above executive football director Alexandre Mattos.The appointment runs initially until the end of December, with any extension to be decided after the presidential election. Teixeira is seeking another term, although opposition candidate José Renato Quaresma has said he would retain the new chief executive if elected.The appointment gives Neymar’s father a formal management role after NR Sports helped Santos secure funding for infrastructure and meet a number of financial obligations. The relationship expanded after Neymar returned to the club in 2025.Budget documents presented to the club’s deliberative council in April recorded R$18 million in infrastructure investment arranged through NR Sports. The funding supported work at the Rei Pelé training centre and improvements to the Vila Belmiro stadium.In August, NR Sports lent Santos R$12 million to settle a debt to Monaco arising from the signing of Jean Lucas. The payment enabled Santos to resolve a FIFA ban on registering new players. The club said the loan would be repaid through the joint sale of sponsorship space still available on its kit.A separate agreement between Santos and NR Sports, signed in January, set out a repayment schedule for approximately R$90.5 million in outstanding image rights payments owed to Neymar. The first R$26 million was due in instalments by May, with the remaining R$64.5 million spread over 43 monthly payments of R$1.5 million.Under a clause reported by Máquina do Esporte and MKT Esportivo, the outstanding balance, estimated at approximately R$54 million, could become payable in full if Teixeira is not re-elected. Opposition figures have criticised the link between the election result and the repayment schedule, while people close to the current administration said the clause had been requested by Neymar’s family.Santos said the appointment did not represent an acquisition by Neymar’s father. The club continues to negotiate with US-based SDC Sports over a possible investment in a future Sociedade Anónima do Futebol, or SAF, the company that would run its professional football operations.The club’s statutes currently require the members’ association to retain at least 51%. A proposed amendment would lower that threshold to 20%, allowing an outside investor to acquire up to 80%. The extraordinary general meeting scheduled for November 8 was postponed to preserve the existing election registration deadline, leaving the ownership proposal awaiting a members’ vote.