The goalkeeper emergency at Juventus has found its resolution. Neto, the 37-year-old Brazilian free agent who previously represented the club between 2015 and 2017, has reached a full agreement with Juventus and will sign a one-year contract. The medical examinations will be scheduled for completion after the international break, with the signing to follow — meaning he will be available to Luciano Spalletti when competitive football resumes with the Serie A return at Cagliari on 11 October and the Europa League second matchday away at Celta Vigo on 15 October.
Why Neto — the One Element Nobody Else Could Offer
The search that followed Kamil Grabara’s anterior cruciate ligament rupture on the morning of Saturday 20 September produced ten candidates in the space of 72 hours. Of all of them — Cragno, Gomis, Rico, Begovic, Cillessen and others — Neto possessed one element that none of the alternatives could provide: direct, personal knowledge of the Juventus environment, the Serie A pressure, and the specific demands of playing behind a world-class goalkeeper at one of Italian football’s most scrutinised clubs.
He did exactly that between 2015 and 2017, serving as Gianluigi Buffon’s deputy in 22 appearances. He knows the training structure at the Continassa. He knows what the black-and-white shirt demands. He knows how to prepare, perform, and maintain standards in an environment where mediocrity is never accepted, even from the backup. That institutional familiarity, combined with his willingness to accept a significant salary reduction from previous earnings to make the deal work financially, made him the unanimous preference of both the technical staff and the directors.
From the Bench of Buffon to the Role of Vicario’s Deputy
The three-chapter structure of the Tuttosport article maps the full arc of Neto’s career at Juventus and the role he is now being asked to fill. He arrived in 2015 as a player expected to challenge for the starting position — and found himself behind one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the sport, managing that particular frustration with the professionalism that has defined his entire career. He departed for Valencia in 2017 with bitterness about the opportunity he felt he hadn’t been fully given. He spent subsequent years performing at a high level at Valencia, FC Barcelona, Bournemouth in the Premier League, and most recently Botafogo in Brazil.
The role he returns to perform is the one he now understands completely and accepts entirely: the reliable, experienced, reassuring vice-Vicario. Not a competitor for the starting shirt — but a professional capable of stepping in, performing at the required level, and giving the squad and the manager the serenity that only a genuine goalkeeper of quality can provide. In that specific role, at this specific moment of the season, there was no better option available.
