Neymar won't be heading to Major League Soccer after all.

The Brazilian star is reportedly signing with Santos and will be leaving Al Hilal, effective immediately, according to football reporter Fabrizio Romano:

Paul Tenorio and Mario Cortegana of The Athletic reported earlier in January that the Chicago Fire had "held discussions" to bring Neymar to the United States, but added that "MLS is not currently a priority for Neymar and his family, despite the exploratory dialogue between his camp and representatives of the Fire."

Neymar, 32, made just seven appearances for Al Hilal across 18 months, in large part due to a torn ACL and meniscus he suffered in Oct. 2023 while playing for the Brazilian national team.

Two weeks ago, Al Hilal manager Jorge Jesus told reporters the star winger "can no longer play at the level we are used to," and Neymar wasn't even registered to play for the team in the first half of the season. That, combined with his pending free agency after the season, made him a candidate to be transferred during the January window, and Al Hilal ultimately terminated his contract.

Per ESPN's Jeff Carlisle, Neymar is expected to sign a six-month contract with Santos, retaining his free agency ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

He was potentially leaving around $65 million on the table by terminating his contract with Al Hilal, according to Carlisle, though "sources told ESPN he could make up at least some of the shortfall by having himself and his father, Neymar Santos Sr., become part of an investment fund that includes shares in Santos. However, ESPN Brazil is reporting that Neymar is still determined to recoup the money from Al Hilal and that any deal involving shares in Santos would be extremely difficult to execute in the short term."

Carlisle also noted that Neymar and Al Hilal ultimately came to an agreement on a contract termination, though it's unknown how much money he recouped.

As for Santos, Neymar will return to the club where he began his professional career in 2009 and spent four years before his famous stints at Barcelona and PSG. Santos won promotion back to Brazil's Serie A in November after winning the Serie B title and will begin its Campeonato Paulista campaign on Jan. 29 against São Bernardo.

Santos is one of the most prestigious clubs in Brazil and has launched the careers of a number of other stars, including Pelé, Robinho and Rodrygo.