[Saba Sports News] According to Brazilian media, Santos FC paid 11 million Brazilian reais to NR Sports, the Neymar family’s company managing the player’s image rights, this Wednesday to ease its outstanding debt. Reports state that most of this payment came from the 8.5 million Brazilian reais the club received last year from the transfer of forward Luca Meirelles to Shakhtar Donetsk. In April this year, Santos officially confirmed that it owed NR Sports a total of 90.5 million Brazilian reais and drew up an instalment repayment schedule aiming to settle the full debt by mid-2030. The breakdown of the debt was documented in a contract addendum signed late last year, forming a key part of the renegotiation over outstanding image rights payments owed to Neymar. Sources within the club confirmed to Brazilian media that the R$90.5 million liability acknowledged in April is split into two parts. The first portion consists of R$26 million in mature contractual payments, payable in five monthly instalments of R$5.2 million between January and May this year with no inflation adjustment. The remaining R$64.5 million under the current contract will be repaid in 43 monthly tranches of R$1.5 million starting this June, with amounts adjusted in line with Brazil’s inflation index (IPCA/FGV).
The payment comes amid the club’s deep financial crisis. Santos is currently two months behind on image rights payments to its entire squad and is actively raising funds to settle all outstanding debts by the end of the month.