Philippe Coutinho has joined Santos on a free transfer for the remainder of the season, where he will reunite with former Brazil teammate Neymar, the Brazilian top-flight club confirmed on Monday.

Coutinho spent five years with Liverpool before making the move to Barcelona in January 2018. During his time with the Spanish giants, he helped the club secure two LaLiga titles.

However, Coutinho and Neymar never played together at Barcelona. Neymar had already left the Catalan club for Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017, several months before Coutinho’s arrival.

Santos welcomed Coutinho with a video showing the Brazilian midfielder entering the dressing room, where he was greeted by Neymar.

“If it’s a dream, I don’t want to wake up,” Neymar told Coutinho in the video as the pair were reunited at the Brazilian club.

Despite their long careers together in the Brazil national team, Coutinho and Neymar have never shared the pitch at club level.

Coutinho, who last represented Brazil in March 2022, returned to his boyhood club Vasco da Gama in 2024. However, his second spell with the Brazilian side came to an end in February this year.

Neymar, now 34, returned to Santos last year after spending time away from his boyhood club. He later announced his retirement from international football following Brazil’s elimination from the World Cup in July.