Neymar da Silva Santos, father of striker Neymar, made official this Tuesday (25) the purchase of Pelé’s brand by his company, NR Sports. He promised to unite the name of the King of Football with that of his son and start a new era of exploring the image of the old number 10, now linked to entertainment.
The announcement was made during a ceremony at the museum that bears the idol’s name, in the Valongo neighborhood, in Santos, with the presence of historic former Santos players, such as Pepe, Manoel Maria, Edu and Clodoaldo. The club’s president, Marcelo Teixeira, and one of Pelé’s daughters, Flávia Arantes do Nascimento, were also at the event.
“We want to make her [a marca] participate not only in sport but in all possible entertainment”, said Neymar Sr.
“Neymar’s return brought us a positive experience in relation to Santos, Brazil and the world. We traveled all over the world and know that today we have our prince. And that [a compra da marca] will be important for Brazil, to make these two representations [Neymar e Pelé] can come together to add one to the other. Of course, Pelé is the greatest of all time, but we will immortalize both of them not only as a memory but as a brand”, he added.
The total value of the deal is around US$18 million (R$96.7 million).
The event announcing the purchase of the Pelé brand was not attended by Neymar. The Santos player only appeared in the presentation video.
“Pelé never stopped being ours and now he is, officially, from Brazil. Again and forever”, he stated, in reference to the fact that the brand was being used by the North American company Sport 10.
“I would give him a hug of thanks, of gratitude for everything he did in football”, said in the video the striker, who is recovering from a problem with his left knee, blamed in the 1-1 draw with Mirassol, in Vila Belmiro, a week ago.
The number 10 was not included in the clash with Internacional, last Monday (24), in Porto Alegre, which also ended in a 1-1 draw.
According to former player and presenter Neto, from TV Bandeirantes, he will no longer play in 2025. With three rounds to go before the end of the Brazilian Championship, Santos is in 17th place, in the relegation zone.
Asked about the risk of repeated injuries disrupting the brand’s plans, the player’s father was angry. “I don’t get it. I don’t get it. You’re mixing things up,” he grumbled.
“We don’t know about this injury. Neymar had an imaging test, we don’t have the results yet. Today, he was completely focused. I haven’t spoken to my son and I don’t know the result. How am I going to respond about something I really don’t know? If that’s what happened, the doctor should talk to him tomorrow. Let’s talk about the plane that flies. Let’s talk about Pelé.”
The agreement for the repatriation of the brand gives NR Sports the rights to use Pelé’s image and commercially explore the licensing of products, historical collections and other properties related to the former player, who died on December 29, 2022.
With Pelé still alive, it was up to Sports 10 to define commercial strategies and the idol’s appearances at events.
The rapprochement between the image of Neymar and that of Pelé has occurred since the player’s return to Vila Belmiro, at the beginning of this year. Shortly before the announcement of the athlete’s second spell at Santos, the club recreated, with the help of artificial intelligence, the voice of the King of Football asking for his return.
With his return sealed, Neymar, who wore the number 11 shirt for most of his first spell, inherited the iconic number 10, which was left unused during the 2024 Series B dispute. Furthermore, he began to be addressed as “Prince”, in reference to the fact that he is the heir of the King, Santos’ greatest idol.
Santos was also trying to buy Pelé’s brand and was optimistic about a deal, but ended up losing the competition to Neymar’s father.
