Brazil’s football mega-star Neymar Jr will officially be plying his trade in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia having officially joined Al-Hilal on a massive two-year deal.
The star striker will complete the necessary transfer from Paris Saint-Germain following a medical test before joining the Riyadh-based club, where he is expected to be given the number 10 shirt number.
Reports are stating that Al-Hilal has paid USD 100m for the transfer of the 31-year-old striker, capping off quite a sensational haul of summer transfers for the club including the world class trio of Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves and Segej Milinkovic-Savic.
While the signing of Neymar is a truly historic signing for the Saudi Pro League, the league has sensationally captured the world’s attention with a whole host of talent joining the league. Initially starting with the incomparable Cristiano Ronaldo signing for Riyadh rivals Al Nassr, the followed by current Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema who joined Jeddah-based Al Ittihad.
Al-Hilal will make Neymar one of the biggest earners in world football
Truth be told, at PSG Neymar already was one of the world’s most highly-paid players. But the new PIF-backed deal at Al-Hilal, the finances are understandably eye-watering. The transfer fee of USD100 million already shows you that the Saudi strategy is to go in and simply blow the competition out of the water.
Salary-wise, Neymar will earn a total package not dissimilar to Cristiano Ronaldo’s USD218.9m per year. That comes in at around USD109.4m for the basic football package, then through other opportunities he can double his income. This is something that no European club—especially Barcelona at the moment—would be able to compete with.
The Saudi Pro League season has already started
The new season of the Saudi Pro League will be the most hotly anticipated season in history. Al-Hilal kicked off the new season of the Saudi Pro League with a 3-1 away win against Abha, with Neymar’s new attacking partner Malcom scoring a hattrick.
What next for the Saudi Pro League revolution?
As Esquire Middle East has been reporting, the strategy seems very clear right now. Populate the SPL with close to 50 top players in this window and progress from there. While the focus is on the four PIF-owned clubs right now (Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad), over time there will be wider foreign recruitment from all clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Clubs like Al-Shabab – another big club and owned by Saudi oil giant Aramco – are unlikely to sit in the shadows waiting their turn. Also, there’s Al-Ettifaq who is now coached by England icon, Steven Gerrard, but even if you drop down a division to Al-Qadsiah where another Liverpool legend, Robbie Fowler, is managing and who are also owned by Aramco.
Maybe in a few years you’ll see the PIF-owned clubs go head-to-head with those owned by Aramco?