Neymar returned to being a character in a game between Santos and Palmeiras. This time, the player only participated in the protocol, carrying the cup to the field alongside Pepe and Clodoaldo, also Santos idols. What caught our attention was on the wrist of Al-Hilal’s number 10, a watch more expensive than the Al-Hilal award. Paulista championship.
The São Paulo Football Federation (FPF) pays R$5 million to the winner of the tournament. Neymar’s watch was a RM-68-01 Tourbillon Cyril Kongo model from the Richard Mille brand. The “Drip de Artista” page, specialized in identifying and evaluating celebrity designer pieces, highlighted the accessory, produced in a limited edition of 30 units and valued at R$6,520,000.00.
Most advertisements selling the model on the internet say “price upon request”. The only one with a displayed value found by Estadão is for sale for R$ 12,807,049.00. When it was launched in 2016, the watch sold for US$800,000 (R$2.56 million at the time).
The model was designed by artist Cyril Kongo, a graffiti artist who lives in Paris and works in the graffiti scene in France. Kongo is a world reference in this type of art and transforms graffiti through inspiration in frescoes and mural paintings.
According to Richard Mille, it took the artist more than a year to develop a suitable painting technique for the watch parts. Kongo used an airbrush, a brush that “blows” the paint with compressed air, and carefully measured the weight of the paint so as not to affect the balance of the gears. The accessory case is made of carbon fiber with a ceramic bezel.
Conquering Paulistão, however, is worth more than the R$5 million for Santos, who took the lead in the dispute by beating Palmeiras 1-0. The club is going through the most challenging year in its history, relegated to Series B of the Brazilian Championship .
For Palmeiras, the title represents the third championship and, for the third time, turning the finals around. On the black side, striker Endrick, leaving for Real Madrid in the middle of the year, wants to say goodbye with the victory. The final dispute will be on Sunday, at 6pm, at Allianz Parque.
Neymar can’t wait to return to the pitch. Since October, number 10 has not played. He is recovering from surgery after suffering a serious injury to his left knee in Brazil’s 2-0 defeat to Uruguay, last year, in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The expectation is that he will only return in the second half of the year and, therefore, will be left out of the Copa América, in June, in the United States. Recently, the Santos president, Marcelo Teixeira, explained the possible paths for the star to return to Santos to resume football.
*WITH AGENCIES
