Neymar: "I’m so happy. I’m back.”

Yes, he’s back – and, in his own words, “so happy”.

Al Hilal star Neymar made his much-anticipated return to competitive football on Monday night, playing his part late on in the Roshn Saudi League champions' thrilling 5-4 AFC Champions Elite victory against Al Ain in the UAE.

Neymar had not played in more than a year after undergoing surgery on a ruptured meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee sustained while on international duty in October last year.

The Brazilian, his country’s all-time top scorer, was one of the marquee signings in the RSL in an unprecedented summer of investment last year. Having debuted that September in the 6-1 win against Al Riyadh - he contributed a superb cameo display - Neymar managed only five appearances in all for Al Hilal.

However, his long-awaited comeback arrived in what proved to be an incredible encounter against Al Ain, with the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward introduced on 76 minutes with his team 5-3 up. Neymar came close to scoring in the closing moments of normal time, only to drag his effort narrowly wide.

Al Hilal, the current RSL champions and at present top of the 2024-25 standings, eventually triumphed 5-4 at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, thanks primarily to a hat-trick from captain, and reigning Asian Player of the Year, Salem Al Dawsari. Al Hilal had defender Ali Al Bulaihi sent off towards the end of the second half.

Speaking after the game, an ecstatic Neymar told the Al Hilal official social media channels: “I feel good. It’s so hard, Al Ain have a good team. But I’m so happy. I’m back... I'm back."

Neymar, 32, cannot be registered for the 2024-25 RSL until January, but manager Jorge Jesus stressed that he plans to use the club’s early continental campaign to help his No.10 regain his match sharpness.

"When I put Neymar in it was 5-3, there was a two-goal difference, there were spaces,” said Jesus, last season’s RSL Manager of the Year having guided Al Hilal to an unbeaten title triumph. “But the red card came right after the substitution, which left us with one striker less, so [Aleksandar] Mitrovic had to leave the field. We then had less offensive power to the team.

"I need to prepare Neymar through the games; that’s the only possible means to bring him to his level, which was the idea today. There are some risks for the team because we need to use the games to prepare him, but it’s the only way to have one of our important players back to the highest level."

Al Hilal, record four-time Asian champions, sit top of the Western Region standings, level with RSL counterparts Al Ahli, with three wins from three. The RSL title-holders have been just as ruthless in the Saudi Arabian top flight this season: their 100 percent record after seven matchweeks sees them perched at the summit, three points ahead of Al Ittihad.