By Samuel A. August 17, 2023
Brazilian football sensation and legend, Neymar has joined Saudi pro league side, Al Hilal from PSG, ending a roller coaster six year spell at the French club.
Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world record fee of 222 million euros. He scored 118 goals in 173 matches over six seasons that were disturbed with several injuries. He won five Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups, but lost a Champions League final that would have been career-defining to Bayern Munich in 2020.
His time at the club has frequently been jeopardized by injury and he was no longer considered a key player in coach Luis Enrique’s squad with the likes of 22 year old Portugal striker Goncalo Ramos and Marco Asencio changing the profile of the team.
Al Hilal agreed to a reported 90 million euros ($98m) transfer fee with PSG on Monday, with this amount being a record for the league, backed by the country in its spending spree on high profile football talent in a quest to revolutionize the league. Neymar has been offered a two year contract that amounts up to €260m – which is around €130m per year and €2.5m per week.
In his unveiling video, he said : “I am here in Saudi Arabia, I am Hilali”. In a statement sent by the league, Neymar said he wants to “write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment”. Neymar continued : “Al Hilal is a giant club with fantastic fans, and it is the best in Asia. This gives me a feeling that it is the right decision for me at the right time with the right club. I love winning and scoring goals and I plan to continue doing that in Saudi Arabia and with Al Hilal.”
Neymar loves how the league has improved recently : “I believe Cristiano Ronaldo started all of this and everybody called him ‘crazy’, and this and that. Today you see the league grow more and more. It is exciting, meeting top quality players on the other teams thrills you and motivates you to play even better.”
Al Hilal, the most successful club in Saudi Arabia and Asia, have won 66 trophies and hold the record for the highest number of league and Asian Champions League titles, with 18 and 4 respectively.
Reports claim that Neymar’s successful signing for Al Hilal brings up the number of transfers to Saudi Arabia from major European leagues to more than 30. Al Hilal have big names like Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, Malcom at their disposal and Neymar’s acquisition will certainly strengthen their chances of winning the domestic league this time. While talking about the Saudi Pro League, Neymar said that the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema will make the competition more exciting.
