Overview
- A 3-0 victory over Cruzeiro at Vila Belmiro sealed 12th place on 47 points, with Thaciano scoring twice and João Schmidt adding a third.
- Neymar, 33, returned to Santos in January and appeared in 19 of 38 league matches, finishing the season with eight goals.
- He drove the late escape by scoring against Sport Recife, hitting a hat-trick versus Juventude, and serving as chief creator in the finale.
- After the match he said he needs rest before undergoing knee surgery, offering no specifics on the injury as some outlets reported a meniscus tear and a delayed operation.
- Some reports say the win also secured a Copa Sudamericana berth for Santos, a detail not uniformly confirmed across outlets.