The Saudis staged a transfer boom in the summer of 2023, spending hundreds of millions of euros on the brightest football players of our time. As expected, not all of them are happy with this specific championship, and some, like Jordan Henderson, have already left the country. According to rumors, the current situation does not suit Karim Benzema and Roberto Firmino; but there is also an unexpected name on the list of those disappointed – Neymar.
The salary is crazy, but the matches are minimal
Al-Hilal spared no expense on Neymar. PSG received 90 million euros for the Brazilian – this is a record both for the Saudi League (they preferred to take on free agents) and for the Parisians. The footballer was given either 150 (according to insider Fabrizio Romano) or 200 (Sky Sports) million euros per season on a two-year contract.
This salary made Neymar one of the highest paid football players in the league, and for some time he played for all the money – in three rounds of the championship he gave two assists, adding a goal in two matches of the local Champions League. But in October 2023, the Brazilian tore his crosses and injured his meniscus. The forecast was the most unfavorable (and remains so) – the forward will not return until the beginning of the next season.
Neymar’s nightmare autumn: he provoked a series of scandals and received a terrible injury in the national team
So, Neymar has a contract for two seasons and a crazy salary, but he will miss at least one season. For the club, this is a failure and huge financial losses, and in January there was even information that the contract with the Brazilian had been terminated. However, Romano quickly denied everything, saying that the contract was valid, the forward was being paid, he was simply excluded from the squad for the season in order to comply with the limit on foreign players (maximum eight in the application).
It would seem that Neymar needs to sit quietly – he will spend half of the contract in the hospital, but will receive all his hundreds of millions. In such a situation, it seems that we need to think regarding how to spend the second season at an incredible level to compensate for the 10 missed months. But no – Neymar seems to be thinking regarding something else.
In a week, rumors sent Neymar to three clubs
For a long time nothing was heard regarding possible options for the Brazilian, but in March suddenly rumors appeared one following another. For example, Spanish Sport reported that Neymar asked Al-Hilal to send him on loan to Barcelona next year. There was no evidence of this, and some time later Sport itself reported that such a deal was impossible – Barcelona had no money. Sounds plausible.
The second rumor was deliberately provoked. At the end of March, Neymar flew to Miami for a week; the football player had a rich cultural program. The Brazilian went to basketball, tennis and even baseball. And in the middle of the week I met with David Beckham. Of course, talk immediately began regarding the revival of the legendary Barcelona trio Messi – Suarez – Neymar (MSN). Becks, aka the president of Inter Miami, cut them off the morning following the meeting, posting a photo with Neymar with the caption: “Welcome to Miami my friend (for dinner only).”
Even if Beckham wanted to, he would not be able to sign Neymar – Inter’s payroll is already bursting with stars, the club has to sell some players. Becks simply won’t be able to pull off an MSN reunion—MLS has harsh financial legislation.
Perhaps the most truthful rumor appeared on April 1 – Neymar attended the match of his native Santos in the first leg of the Paulista League final once morest Palmeiras. The Pisces won, and Neymar went down to the locker room and, according to UOL, told the players that he would join the team in 2025.
Considering that in February, Santos President Marcelo Teixeira optimistically confirmed the fact of negotiations, this version looks the most realistic. This is what the functionary said: “The conversation with Neymar was very fast, but quick conversations always have a good effect. To come back and play here, he needs to recover well from his injury. He will continue his journey in Saudi Arabia and then come here.”
Will Santos be willing to return Neymar?
Santos is going through hard times – Pele’s club left the elite division for the first time in history last year. On this occasion, fans staged a pogrom in the city and burned several cars. Neymar, by the way, supported the team on social networks: “Santos” is “Santos”. We will smile once more.”
But even in the best of times, Santos, of course, would have no chance of winning Neymar’s contract on market terms. The Brazilian has always earned cosmic money since moving to Barcelona. Now the cost of the Santos squad, according to Transfermarkt, is 39 million euros. Neymar’s cost is 45.
You can go further: according to a report by the consulting company BDO, in 2017 the market value of Santos with all teams, training centers and social networks was regarding 73 million euros. Even if we assume that the amount has now increased to 100 million (which is not a fact), Neymar can afford his own Santos simply by being in the hospital in Al-Hilal.
What Neymar will ultimately decide is unknown, and the final decision is still far away. He still needs treatment for regarding six months (the doctors refuse to speed up his preparation), then he will have a whole season at Al-Hilal. And then maybe the Brazilian will get comfortable in Saudi Arabia.
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2024-04-03 17:49:18
