Neymar, a star forward for Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain, is close to agreeing to personal terms with Al Hilal of the Saudi Pro League, according to multiple reports.
PSG and Al Hilal are reportedly advancing to the “final stages” of a deal after a bid soccer insider Fabrizio Romano called “huge.”
The French superclub is reportedly asking €80 million ($88 million) for him in negotiations that progressing smoothly, ESPN reported Sunday. The 31-year-old is set to sign a two-year deal for €100 million a year at Al Hilal, the report said.
Neymar reportedly told his management he didn’t want to return to PSG on Aug. 7, two months after news surfaced that French star Kylian Mbappé also intended to leave.
Mbappé seems likely to remain with PSG after he reportedly turned down a massive bid from Al Hilal and returned to the club’s first-team training squad after “positive discussions.” He watched from the crowd during the club’s opening scoreless draw against Lorient as Neymar also sat out of the match.
Neymar spent the past six seasons with PSG, pairing with Mbappé to push to the club to five Ligue 1 titles since 2017. Lionel Messi, who was part of PSG for its past two championship victories, also left this summer to join Inter Miami of Major League Soccer.
Neymar scored 82 goals for PSG, assisting on 48. The Brazil international has 150 goals and 83 assists in 235 career club matches.
With Al Hilal, he will potentially join forces with Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Rúben Neves. The Saudi Club most recently took a 2-1 loss to Al Nassr in the Arab Club Champions Cup Final on Saturday. That match featured two goals from former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Now, it appears Neymar could become the next player to make an immediate splash in the Saudi Pro League.
