Neymar has become the latest football star to take his talents to the Saudi Pro League after completing a move to Al-Hilal. The 31-year-old has joined from Paris Saint-Germain in a deal that could reach €100m (£86.3m).
The Brazilian’s departure ends a six-year stay at PSG, who he joined from Barcelona for a world-record £200m fee in 2017. Neymar leaves the Parc Des Princes having scored 118 goals in 173 matches and won five Ligue 1 titles, but was left out of the club’s opening league game against Lorient.
Neymar did not feature in the plans of PSG’s new head coach, Luis Enrique, and now joins the influx of star names at Al-Hilal. In a brief official unveiling video posted by the club on Twitter, Neymar said: “I am here in Saudi Arabia. I am Hilali.”
The Riyadh-based club have already signed Rúben Neves from Wolves, the Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly, Lazio’s Sergei Milinkovic-Savic and Neymar’s compatriot Malcom, who scored a hat-trick in the opening 3-1 league win against Abha.
“I am here in Saudi Arabia, i am HILALI 💙”@neymarjr #AlHilal
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) August 15, 2023
pic.twitter.com/q7VUhf0FnQ
The PSG chief executive, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, told the club’s official website: “It is always difficult to say goodbye to an amazing player like Neymar, one of the best players in the world.”
“I will never forget the day he arrived at Paris Saint-Germain, and what he has contributed to our club and our project over the last six years. We had a great moment and Neymar will always be a big part of our history.”
Other stars to sign up for the Saudi Arabian league in recent months include Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mané, N’Golo Kanté, Allan Saint-Maximin and Jordan Henderson.
