Neymar is flying out to join the big-spending Saudi Pro League on Monday, with Paris Saint-Germain poised to agree a final fee beyond £69 million with Al-Hilal.
The French club had been holding out for a significant fee for the Brazilian forward, who cost a world-record £200 million from Barcelona in 2017. Neymar, 31, was one of a host of major names who had been urged to seek a new club over the summer amid a major overhaul at PSG.
Neymar is reported to be in line to receive around £275 million over the course of his two-year contract. With Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami earlier this summer, sources close to talks said the imminent deal for Neymar marked the “official end of the Galacticos era in Paris”.
Neymar’s representatives were understood to be immediately receptive to a big money offer from the same club that had been spurned by Kylian Mbappe last month,
While Mbappe has now returned to first-team training in Paris, Neymar is believed to be flying out for his medical at Al-Hilal early this evening. He could be unveiled as the club’s latest signing as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday. Final minor negotiations are ongoing between PSG and Al Hilal over a figure of between €80 million (£69 million) and €100 million (£86.3 million).
The incoming fee and the departure of a player receiving a salary of £21 million a year will significantly ease any Financial Fair Play fears for the club. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the PSG chairman, has given the green light to major reforms that will see Luis Enrique encouraged to sign younger talents.
Neymar was under contract with PSG until 2027 but will now become the Saudi Pro League’s biggest name alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, as well as the league’s highest-paid player.
Neymar is believed to have rejected the possibility of a loan move to his former club Barcelona. At Al-Hilal, the Brazilian will join up with a host of eye-catching signings, including Ruben Neves from Wolves and Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea.
The team were defeated 2-1 by Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in the final of the Arab Club Champions Cup on Saturday.
Expenditure has been turbo-charged in the Saudi Pro League this summer after Al-Hilal became one of four of the kingdom’s top clubs to be taken over completely by the Public Investment Fund as part of plans to eventually privatise them.
As part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, there are aims for the revenue of the league to increase to £400 million annually by 2030. Turning the domestic league into an international force is just part of a grander, significantly more ambitious scheme that will see the nation attempt to bring the World Cup to the Middle East again.
