Al Hilal have completed the signing of Neymar from Paris Saint Germain for a transfer fee of €90 million.
Neymar has penned a two-year deal with the Saudi Pro League club, which is valid until 2025.
He becomes Al Hilal’s 5th signing this summer, having already signed Malcom, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinković-Savić and Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Brazil international made 29 appearances for Paris Saint Germain last season, scoring 18 goals and providing 17 assists across all competitions.
Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona on August 3, 2017, for a world-record fee of €222 million and he had a wishy-washy stint at the Parc Des Princes, as he battled several injuries and struggled to maintain consistency.
Al Hilal confirm signing of Neymar
Al Hilal confirmed the signing of Neymar with a captivating video shared on the club’s social media accounts.
The 1 minute 9 seconds footage, displayed the beautiful city of Riyadh and it also showed the Brazilian saying “I am here in Saudi Arabia, I am Hilal”.
Neymar sustained an injury in February 2023 and it ruled him out of the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
The Brazilian returned to training with Paris Saint Germain in July 2023, but he indicated his desire to exit the Parc Des Princes in August 2023.
Neymar made 186 appearances for PSG, scoring 118 goals and providing 77 assists across all competitions.
The former Barcelona forward will reportedly earn about €160 million over two seasons at Al Hilal, six times the amount he was earning at Paris Saint Germain.
Al Hilal linked to Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe this summer?
In the early stages of the 2023 summer transfer window, Al Hilal were interested in signing Lionel Messi, but the Argentine snubbed the Pro league club for Inter Miami.
The Saudi Arabian side were also interested in signing Kylian Mbappe and they tabled a staggering bid for the Frenchman.
However, despite Paris Saint Germain accepting the offer from Al Hilal, Kylian Mbappe rejected their advances.
He becomes the latest high-profile player to join the Saudi Pro League in the space of a year, having witnessed the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, and Roberto Firmino to name a few.
The President of Paris Saint Germain, Nasser Al-Khalaifi, has also spoken on the Brazilian’s departure, expressing how hard it is to bid goodbye to a player like Neymar.
He said: “It is always difficult to say goodbye to an amazing player like Neymar, one of the best players in the world.”
Al-Khalaifi also sent his gratitude to Neymar and he wished him all the best in his future endeavors.
The Qatari said: “I would like to thank Neymar and his family. We wish Neymar all the very best for the future and his next adventure.”
The departure of the Brazil national team’s joint top-scorer became very imminent after PSG Ultras converged at the front of his apartment in May to voice out their frustration over his performances.
Despite not winning the coveted Champions League title at the Paris-based club, Neymar enjoyed a relatively successful spell at the Parc Des Princes.
He won 5 French Ligue 1 titles, 3 Coupe de France, 2 Coupe de la Ligue, and 3 Trophée des Champions.
