Santos have survived relegation from the top flight Brasileirão Série A and even booked continental football next season with the help of Neymar.

The Brazilian giants looked set for another relegation after their 2023 disaster spending the final few games of the season in the bottom four.

However, they jumped out last time out when Neymar scored a hat-trick, and then a 3-0 win in their season finale against Cruzeiro ended the threat of relegation and even secured a 12th place finish.

That means they will play in the Copa Sudamericana next season – South America’s equivalent of the Europa League.

Santos appeared to be on an irreversible doom-spiral heading into winter and then a Neymar meniscus injury ruled him out of their final four matches.

Miraculously, he decided to play through the ailment and on top of his hat-trick he also scored and assisted in another key win.

Such achievements may have put his spot at the 2026 World Cup beyond him, but everything Carlo Ancelotti has said suggested he wasn’t going anyway.