next is for loop control while return is for returning from a subroutine. Witness the different behaviour in this (demonstration only) code:

mysub(5);

sub mysub {
  my $val = shift || 8;
    
  print "next demo: \n";
  for (1..10){
    next if $_ == $val;
    print $_, "\n";
  }
  print "\nreturn demo: \n";
  for (1..10){
    return if $_ == $val;
    print $_, "\n";
  }
}
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Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is. -Margaret Mitchell