The summer of 2023 will be remembered for Saudi’s money power for big players. With backing from Saudi government, clubs have been on a shopping spree for all big stars. If Cristiano Ronaldo was just the beginning, Brazil forward Neymar Jr is the latest addition to this list. PSG have agreed a deal to sell Neymar to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
As per reports, Neymar Jr has agreed to a move to Al-Hilal with a transfer fee for PSG around 90m euros plus add-ons. The player has completed the medical and all important paperwork. It means he becomes another star player to choose Saudi Pro League.
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The Brazilian joined Paris Saint-Germain for a world record fee of 222m euros in 2017. He got injured last season and missed a major part of the season. However, during his stint at PSG, he failed to win any major trophy in Europe barring Ligue 1.
Every summer since his move to the Parisian club, he has been heavily linked with some big clubs. Finally, all rumours came to an end. PSG also decided to move on from big players and didn’t hesitate to sell him out to Al-Hilal.
It was a pretty surprising call from the player who is currently 31 years old and he can still master European leagues. But a big money move motivated him to play in Saudi Pro League.
Neymar Jr has made 173 appearances for PSG. He won 13 trophies for the French club, including five Ligue 1 titles. He was also part of PSG’s campaign for the Champions League final in 2020.
The former Barcelona player resumed training in July after recovering from an ankle injury. He hasn’t played a competitive game since the 2022 World Cup game where he got injured. This Neymar deal news came 24 hours after Mbappe’s reentry into PSG’s plans when came back to first-team training.
Fans not happy with Neymar Jr transfer
Fans shared their strange thoughts on Neymar’s move to Al Hilal. They are not happy with this move and we found very rare fans who called it a smart move.
A fan wrote, “Neymar won’t be allowed to do the rainbow flick in Saudi Arabia.”
A Barcelona fan bashed him by saying, “Neymar threw away his career for money.”
A Ronaldo fan started the Saudi and MLS debate by tweeting this, “So Ronaldo will be competing with Benzema, Neymar, Firmino, Mahrez and other top ballers in Saudi. While Messi competes with part-time KFC workers and Costco salesmen in MLS.”
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This Neymar deal will surely raise debates among football experts who wanted FIFA to make interference. Even Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp showed his anger with Saudi Pro League.
A Messi fan wrote, “Hazard and Neymar are a prime example of how hard it is to keep up your career as a technically gifted attacker. Neymar just turned 31 and he is going to Saudi. Leo Messi made us think that it was normal.”
A fan group on Twitter criticised the Brazilian by writing, “We love Neymar, he’s one of the best of all time, and one of the greatest talents this game has seen. But, his career choices have been horrid. PSG has been a circus while he’s been there and now he’s wasting his prime in Saudi. The biggest waste of talent in football history.”
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr from Manchester United in January and the whole story started from this move. It gave the magic stick to Saudi clubs to attract players from Europe. They didn’t look back in the summer and added the biggest players from Europe’s top 5 leagues. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson, Ruben Neves, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have all moved to Saudi Arabia.
Editors pick
