Ligue 1: Neymar ‘agrees’ to join Al-Hilal as PSG gives nod to deal
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) soccer superstar Neymar has reportedly agreed to a two-year deal to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.
This was reported by France’s leading sports daily, L’Equipe, on Sunday, August 13. It’s been gathered that PSG and Brazil forward will receive a total of 160 million euros ($175 million US) over two seasons.
Earlier reports suggested that as part of his contract with Al-Hilal, the player would move to Barcelona on loan for the 2023-24 season mostly because he wanted to have a last hurrah in European football.
However, sports journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed there is absolutely no chance of a loan deal being reached. Barcelona’s board was largely divided with respect to Neymar, to say the least. While the management was of the idea that the 31-year-old is a sure-shot economic mine, the coaching staff expressed that he does not fit into Xavi’s plans.
Neymar has spent the past six seasons with PSG, pairing with Kylian Mbappe to push the club to five Ligue 1 titles since 2017. Lionel Messi, who was part of PSG for its past two championship victories, also left this summer to join Inter Miami of Major League Soccer.
The Brazilian star scored 82 goals for PSG, assisting on 48. Neymar has 150 goals and 83 assists in 235 career club matches.
Neymar is hardly on a pittance at PSG. The notorious resident in the Parisian suburb of Bougival, whose mayor described Neymar’s frequent parties as “prodigiously annoying”, earns around £48.6m-per-year, more than £930,000-per-week.
However, he is only the second-best paid player in Ligue 1, behind his teammate, Kylian Mbappe.
Al Hilal initially targeted Mbappe this summer, offering PSG a record-shattering £259m for the 24-year-old – who earns £61.9m per annum in Paris. PSG were all too happy to accept the offer but Mbappe refused to even meet with Al Hilal’s representatives. Neymar, it appears, has come much further in the negotiations.
