São Paulo – Brazilian striker Neymar (pictured above) agreed to play for Saudi club Al Hilal on a two-year contract. The player will sign with his new team after undergoing a medical exam in Paris this Monday (14). Neymar’s presentation is expected to occur next Wednesday (16).
His former club, Paris Saint-Germain, will receive EUR 90 million (about USD 98.5 million at the current rate) for the 31-year-old player’s transaction. In six seasons with the French club, Neymar played 173 games, scored 118 goals, and won 13 titles. Brought to the spotlight by Brazilian club Santos, he defended the colors of Spain’s Barcelona before transferring to the Paris team in 2017.
Al Hilal is one of the most popular teams in Saudi football. This year, Saudi league clubs already signed European football stars like Portuguese Rúben Neves (ex-Wolverhampton), Senegalese Koulibaly (ex-Chelsea), and Brazilian Malcom (ex-Zenit). Al-Hilal’s coach is Portuguese Jorge Jesus, who is known to Brazilians for coaching Flamengo from 2019 to 2020.
Another star, already playing in the Saudi Pro League (SPL) for Al-Nassr, one of Al Hilall’s biggest rivals, is Portuguese Cristino Ronaldo. The team is coached by Luis Castro, who this year left Botafogo and moved to Saudi Arabia.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
