Neymar Faces Backlash at Santos After Fluminense Defeat
The boos started long before Neymar reached the tunnel.
Vila Belmiro, usually a shrine to his glory years, turned on its idol on Sunday as Santos let another result slip away against Fluminense. When the final whistle went, the soundtrack was whistles, jeers and anger – and Neymar stood right in the middle of it.
He didn’t hide his fury. Cameras caught the 32-year-old marching off the pitch, fingers jammed into his ears, blocking out the noise as he stormed down the tunnel. No applause to the stands. No lingering on the pitch. Just a straight, bristling exit from a stadium that once worshipped him.
The anger followed him online. Within hours, Neymar had jumped on social media to push back at the criticism, latching onto one particular gesture that had sparked debate.
“The day has arrived when I have to explain an EAR SCRATCH!” he wrote. “Folks, honestly, you’re going way too harsh and crossing the line… It’s just too sad to have to put up with this. No human being can take it.”
It was a raw, emotional response from a player who helped drag Santos to safety last season. Back then, his return felt like a romantic rescue act. This season, the romance has drained away.
The numbers say he is still producing: four goals and three assists in nine league games. The table says it isn’t enough. Santos have just three wins from 12 league fixtures and sit 15th, a single point above the relegation zone – with bitter rivals Corinthians lurking below the line.
On Sunday, the story of their season played out in 90 bruising minutes.
Santos led twice, first through Gabigol, then through Alvaro Barreal. Each time, belief flickered back into the old ground. Each time, Fluminense clawed them back. The game hung there, waiting for a decisive moment, and it fell to the club’s biggest star.
Neymar had the chance to kill it late in the second half, a clear opening to put the match to bed. He missed. Vila Belmiro felt the air go out of it.
The punishment came swiftly. In the 85th minute, John Kennedy struck the winner for Fluminense, turning a hard-fought lead into another bitter defeat. The groans turned to rage.
Even in stoppage time, Neymar found himself under the microscope. A failed piece of skill, attempted as Santos chased an equaliser, drew another wave of disapproval. Supporters saw showboating where they wanted urgency. The whistles grew louder.
This was not a one-off outburst. Santos have now won just two of their last 10 games in all competitions, and the pressure has been building with every misstep. The squad looks stretched, the football disjointed, and the club’s most famous player has become the lightning rod for all of it.
The fallout stretches beyond club boundaries.
Neymar has not played for Brazil since a devastating knee injury in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. He remains the Seleção’s all-time leading scorer, and with the 2026 World Cup looming, his name still hovers over every squad discussion.
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti has kept the door open, on one condition: Neymar must stay fit and find rhythm. That used to sound like a formality. Right now, it feels like a genuine question.
His form is uneven. The atmosphere around him at Santos is turning hostile. Every missed chance, every gesture, every touch is dissected. For a player who once seemed untouchable in the yellow shirt, the path back now looks tangled.
If he cannot calm the storm at Santos and sharpen his edge again, the risk is clear. One of the most glittering careers in Brazilian football could be forced to navigate its final stretch under a cloud, not a crown.
