Neymar's Saudi contract could be terminated in January after he upsets Al-Hilal

Neymar could leave Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in January having played just seven times for the club.

The iconic Brazilian ended his six-year stay in the French capital with Paris Saint Germain last year to make a lucrative £86million switch to the Middle East, where he joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema as the league's leading lights.

He was rewarded for this move with a whopping £2.5m-a-week contract but, unfortunately, has not repaid such faith on the pitch, having kitted out for Al-Hilal just seven times – scoring a single goal and adding three assists before an ACL tear sidelined him for over a year.

Returning in an AFC Champions League tie last month brought hope along with it. Alas, a new hamstring issue looks to have knocked the 32-year-old back down a peg. These injuries have now seemingly become too much for his employers, who reportedly could look to offload the superstar as soon as January.

The ex-Barcelona star took to Instagram after this latest setback, posting: "Hopefully nothing too much... It's normal that after one year [sidelined] this [the hamstring injury] happens, the doctors had already warned me, so I have to be careful and play more minutes."

However, according to reports from his homeland, the Brazilian has always eyed up a return to his boyhood Santos. If things don’t pick up, then he could be allowed to make said homecoming sooner rather than later.

Brazilian outlet UOL writes: "Al-Hilal are already discussing behind the scenes the possibility of negotiating Neymar's departure in January 2025.

“Neymar, internally at Al-Hilal, always makes it very clear that his greatest desire is to return to Brazil first. And if he does return to Brazil, Santos is his priority.

"Al-Hilal will monitor Neymar's clinical and physical development until December. If they believe that Neymar's return is not 100% guaranteed, Al-Hilal will put a mutual, amicable agreement on the table.

“This interests Neymar because he could return to Brazilian football in January. Just remember that Neymar earns 160 million euros per season and had been out of action for almost a year because of his injury.”

Santos, a club where Neymar is heralded as an idol, suffered a shock relegation from Brazil’s Serie A last season, ending their 111-year spell in the top flight.

However, he dialled into scenes of celebration last month when the club all but sealed promotion to bounce right back up – evidencing the fact that a return to the place he once called home is very much on the agenda.