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Saudi Arabia representatives of Al Hilal are keen to secure the signature of Neymar as the striker looks to move away from PSG.
The 31-year-old may decide to move away from European football and with transfer news and speculation growing about Saudi’s interest, Al Hilal may be one of few clubs to compete with his wage expectations.
Last week, we saw Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema move to Al Ittihad, reportedly set to earn £85m a year. Many more may follow this summer, with Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante looking to join his fellow French international in Saudi Arabia.
Will Neymar transfer away from Europe?
Al Hilal were on course to sign Lionel Messi until the Argentine World Cup winner announced he was to join MLS club Inter Miami.
However, the Riyadh club are keen to roll up their sleeves and try again in their search to bring in a marquee signing to rival both Al Nassr who have Cristiano Ronaldo and now Al Ittihad, after their purchase of Benzema.
CBS Sports reported Al Hilal’s contingency flew to Paris in order to meet Neymar’s entourage and see if there was any interest in the Brazilian moving to Saudi Arabia.
With a transfer fee rumoured to be around £40 million, wages also seemed to be in the same region as to what Ronaldo is receiving at Al Nassr – a package around £180 million a year.
Although Neymar has expressed little to no desire to leave the club, PSG are keen to do to business with those who are interested, as they look to recoup some of the £200 million they spent on him back in 2017 from Barcelona.
Having only played one season since joining where he’s featured in over 30 games or more, it hasn’t quite worked out as PSG would have hoped for, who haven’t been able to win the Champions League as planned.
The Saudi investment continues
Despite Neymar’s injuries, the Brazilian would be a huge coup for the Saudi Pro League, who are keen to bring in as many stellar signings as possible over the summer.
The PSG striker has scored 82 goals in 112 appearances for the French Ligue 1 champions, as well as 77 goals for Brazil in just 124 matches. The most expensive football transfer in the world may not have brought the Champions League to Paris, but he’s continuously proven himself in Europe since leaving Santos back in 2013 for Barcelona.
During his time in Spain the 31-year-old won the Champions League, two La Liga titles, a hattrick of Copa del Rey titles as well as the FIFA Club World Cup.
If Neymar is to make the decision to join Benzema and Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, it will feel inevitable many more big names will follow suit. Despite Al Hilal’s interest in the Brazilian, there’s plenty of other transfer rumours flying about at present.
Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, Man City’s Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez are all wanted by Saudi clubs, who are all contemplating moves to the Middle East due to the amount of money being offered.
Other names include Alexis Sanchez, former Liverpool striker Iago Aspas and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have also been mentioned in recent weeks.
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