‘Global icon’ swaps PSG for Saudi Arabia in £77m move that will see superstar earn £260m

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar has joined Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal in a reported £77million move, which will see him make £129million a year for an initial two seasons.

Neymar is a player that is unfortunate to have played at the same time as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Brazilian superstar is one of the best players of his generation.

He’ll never truly get the admiration he deserves because of just how good the other greats were.

Neymar has starred in three different countries, directly contributing to 108 goals for Santos in Brazil, 181 for Barcelona in Spain and then 195 for PSG in France.

His numbers at PSG could have been much higher, had he not been plagued by injuries during his time there.

That may be one reason the Ligue 1 giants were willing to ship him out. Indeed, at the back end of his spell, PSG decided he was ‘not a key player’ and were willing to let him go.

Neymar’s preferred destination was said to be former side Barcelona, though them affording him would have been tough given their financial struggles at the moment.

Chelsea were reportedly offered the chance to sign him, but decided against it. That opened the door for Al Hilal, with Fabrizio Romano stating today (August 15) that the deal was done.

Neymar agrees to lucrative Al Hilal deal

Now, the move has been confirmed by the club. PSG are one of the richest clubs in the world, but what the forward earned in France pales in comparison to his wage in Saudi Arabia.

BBC Sport reported Neymar earned around £21.6million annually at PSG. At Al Hilal, he’ll reportedly earn £129.2million a year, and has signed a two-year contract.

The club are clearly a very rich outfit, having also paid approximately £77million to land the 31-year-old.

Neymar cited a desire to “write new sporting history” as a reason for his move to Al Hilal. He also mentioned that he’s “following a long list of Brazilian players who have played in Saudi Arabia”.

Al Hilal are clearly very happy to have the superstar to call upon, as their president, Fahan bin Saad stated Neymar is a “global icon” and “an unstoppable attacking force”.

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