Al-Hilal, one of four clubs owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has no qualms about offering players enormous contracts. The club reportedly offered Messi a deal worth about $1.6 billion before Messi decided to join Inter Miami instead. And earlier this summer, Al-Hilal sent Kylian Mbappe a contract offer that would have paid him more than $750 million for one season of play.
Both Messi and Mbappe turned the Saudi club down. But now, it appears they’ve found a star to come play for their team.
Brazilian star Neymar has agreed to join Al-Hilal on a two-year deal. Per Sky Sports, he’ll reportedly earn about $163.5 million per season, for a grand total of $327 million. UOL Esporte also reported that Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar’s former club, will receive a $98.5 million transfer fee from Al-Hilal for the rights to the forward. If you’re scoring at home, that’s about a collective $425 million — nearly half a billion dollars — that Al-Hilal is paying for one player.
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This will be Neymar’s largest contract by far, about six times what he was making with Paris Saint-Germain annually. His old club knows a thing or two about spending money on a single player — Paris Saint-Germain sent a $243 million transfer fee in 2017 to get him out of his contract with FC Barcelona.
Now, Neymar will head to Saudi Arabia on an eye-popping contract. Al Nassr, another Saudi team, signed Cristiano Ronaldo to a massive deal worth more than half a billion dollars earlier this year. Ronaldo’s arrival led to renewed interest in the Saudi Pro League, which now has a new U.S. media deal with Fox Sports and an agreement with DAZN to stream games across several countries. The league will be viewable in more than 170 countries and territories across the world. Neymar joining the fray will only bolster what the television and streaming options can offer.
Al-Hilal will look to Neymar to help lead the team to a championship. The squad finished third last season in the Saudi Pro League. For now, he’s the latest star to leave a more prominent league in Europe for an enormous payday in Saudi Arabia. And based on what we’ve seen with athletes making moves, we doubt this is the last big name to jump to a Saudi league.
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