At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.92 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Álvaro Barreal was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
7 goals in one match, Matheus Bahia on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Santos and Santa Cruz.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Neymar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 18 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Santos can pretend not to have heard.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Bruno Lopes after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Eguinaldo provided it, and the 9.15 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Benjamín Rollheiser provided it, and the 8.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.98 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Santos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Santos and Atletico Goianiense, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Veríssimo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Gabriel Barbosa at his very best
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Willian Arão
Lucas Veríssimo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout3 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Bruno Lopes chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
Player ratingsThe chances came and went for Eguinaldo
The dugoutThaciano has become a man the manager trusts
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Alex Pullchz is living that version at Santos, and it tends to show in the first month.
João Schmidt and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Álvaro Barreal was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.33. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.43 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Álvaro Barreal was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Santos and Cruzeiro, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Veríssimo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Eguinaldo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Santos is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Santos, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Moisés is on it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Rodrigo Falcão has his answer from Santos; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
In brief
The dugoutThaciano has become a man the manager trusts
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Santos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Álvaro Barreal was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Neymar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Santos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Santos will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Santos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
João Schmidt and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The words a physio says slowly. 40 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Santos will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Benjamín Rollheiser trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Santos will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Álvaro Barreal and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Neymar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Santos than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Nobody at Santos will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Santos. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Santos will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Billal Brahimi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Santos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every Santos game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at ABC runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Nobody at Santos will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Santos will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Lucas Veríssimo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Neymar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thaciano is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thaciano trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Santos heard it as anything else.
Álvaro Barreal and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Gonzalo Escobar is on it.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Santos than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Santos that is a harder question to answer.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at Santos will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Santos. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Borussia Dortmund pay $20.9M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
He is going to Borussia Dortmund, the club has $20.9M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Santos is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
João Schmidt and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Parana had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Santos asked and Sport Recife said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Nobody at Santos will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Parana waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Santos is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Sarmiento had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Santos can pretend not to have heard.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Santos had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
The phone has started ringing about Gabriel Brazão again, and this time the name on the line is Borussia Dortmund. Santos are listening politely and promising nothing.
Álvaro Barreal and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The offer from Internacional for Lucas Veríssimo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Santos asked and Botafogo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Álvaro Barreal scored in the 87th minute, Sport Recife had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Santos took the lot.
Santos asked and Atlético Mineiro said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Santos have gone to Internacional with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The offer went to Krasnodar this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Sampaio Correa waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Santos is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Santos have gone to Sport Recife with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The offer from Platense for João Pedro was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Álvaro Barreal and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gabriel Barbosa provided it, and the 9.31 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.05 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
João Schmidt and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Álvaro Barreal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑0, Bruno Lopes could afford to be generous.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Billal Brahimi
Two goals and a mark of 8.84 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Santos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Santos is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Miguel Terceros has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Neymar. 2‑1 against Botafogo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rodinei is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The goal that put Botafogo ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Santos equalised, 1 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Diogenes
There were 85 minutes on the clock and Corinthians had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Santos did not stop to explain themselves.
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Corinthians were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It finished 2‑1, and it was Gabriel Barbosa’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Santos.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Gabriel Barbosa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.82. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Bruno Lopes on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.23. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Santos.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Bruno Lopes to a room that had heard them before.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
13 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thaciano is on it.
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Luan Peres and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Santos told Gabriel Barbosa something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rodinei trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Atlético Mineiro? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.07 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Santos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Álvaro Barreal was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A 1‑1 draw with Vitória leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Bruno Lopes was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Santos dressing room was either.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Neymar was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Luan Peres was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
12 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Bruno Lopes to a room that had heard them before.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Santos scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Benjamín Rollheiser. 2‑1 against Bragantino, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The phone has started ringing about Miguel Terceros again, and this time the name on the line is Kudrivka. Santos are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer from Leixões for Otávio was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Nogueira is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
12 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Fluminense go through and Santos go home, 2‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
He has had enough of the noise. Whether Santos can be a quieter place for him, or whether the only cure is a move somewhere the phone-ins are gentler, is a question for the next few months.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” David Nogueira commits to Santos for another 4 years.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Santos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neymar is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Álvaro Barreal and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Miguel Terceros has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Santos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Santos heard it as anything else.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The name of Gabriel Bontempo has come up in conversations Santos were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad3 Aug 2026
9 new faces, and Santos are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.